Dealer – a term that evokes both affection and frustration among feed companies. Up to now, most domestic companies still rely heavily on them. This dependency is reflected in the old marketing slogan of the industry: "Winning through the terminal." But what exactly does this "terminal" refer to? Is it the end farmer, or the last channel for feed products – the dealer? It's unclear. However, one thing is certain: dealers often leave feed companies with a feeling of "something stuck in the throat," and the situation is even more complicated. In the past, dealers played a vital role in the development of China's feed industry. Today, however, their presence has become the biggest obstacle to further growth in the feed and aquaculture sectors. Therefore, it's time for feed enterprises to re-examine their partnerships with dealers. What role do they play today? What is their future trend? And how should companies adjust their strategies in the current landscape? Only by doing so can feed companies break free from the constraints imposed by distributors and accelerate progress in the industry.
1. The Historical Role and Achievements of Feed Distributors
In the early stages of China's feed industry development, many farmers were not accustomed to using industrial feed. At that time, dealers played a crucial role in promoting this new concept. With the market in a seller's position, whether it was a feed company, a distributor, or a farmer, as long as they were willing to work and persisted, they could all find their share of the profit. Feed mills, dealers, and farmers formed a basic peer-to-peer partnership. Everyone earned their own money and enjoyed stability. During this period, distributors acted as key channels for feed companies, taking on a large portion of the promotional responsibilities, allowing companies to focus more on product innovation and production expansion.
2. The Current Situation of Dealers
In the late 1990s, the rapid growth of feed companies led to increased competition. Large enterprise groups, medium-sized local companies, small businesses, and even family-run workshops coexisted, resulting in a highly diversified market. At this point, the market became saturated, and the buyer's market began to take shape. Farmers started paying more attention to brand reputation, and the survival of smaller brands became increasingly difficult. To survive, small companies began sacrificing profits to compensate for their lack of brand recognition, while larger companies had to follow suit, leading to shrinking profit margins in the feed market due to constant bargaining with dealers. At the same time, as more people entered the aquaculture sector, China’s aquaculture industry expanded rapidly, but frequent disease outbreaks and other challenges severely impacted profitability. Many inexperienced and poorly managed farmers suffered losses, unable to cope with the ever-changing market and recurring health issues. Chinese farmers have traditionally preferred to buy their own inputs. In the profitable era, the main issue was payment methods. Now, management risks are rising, profitability is declining, and repayment capabilities have significantly dropped. To reduce their own risks, dealers continuously push pressure on upstream suppliers, demanding better policies and lower prices. Meanwhile, they add more profit margins to the feed sold to farmers, creating an abnormal situation where the two ends are thin and the middle is thick. Farmers struggle to make profits because the high costs of aquaculture are ultimately borne by them, yet they find it increasingly hard to turn a profit. These repeated cycles have turned dealers into a problematic channel, seriously hindering the healthy development of the animal husbandry industry and slowing down overall industry growth.
Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4),Rechargeable Batteries,Low Self-Discharge,Energy Density,Battery Management System (BMS)
Jiangyin Haoxuan Technology Co., Ltd. , https://www.haoxuan-tech.com