Produce Transport & Cost per kg to Market
Hauls vegetables
Enter your load, vehicle capacity, distance, mileage and per-trip costs to get the cost per kg to market — plus total cost, trips, cost per tonne and fuel used, so transport never quietly eats your farm-gate price.
Enter your haul
Next: fill the vehicle (fewer trips), share transport with neighbours, sell to a nearer market or one paying enough to cover the haul, and account this cost in your selling price.
Fuel is costed for the round-trip; add vehicle wear, driver and waiting time for a fuller picture.
Produce transport cost — key facts
- Trips
- ⌈load ÷ vehicle capacity⌉
- Fuel per trip
- (2 × distance ÷ mileage) × fuel price
- Trip cost
- fuel + labour + tolls
- Cost per kg
- total ÷ load
- Cost per tonne
- cost per kg × 1000
- Part-loads
- cost the same per trip
- Biggest lever
- fill the vehicle, cut empty runs
- Privacy
- Runs in your browser; nothing uploaded
The cost between the field and the buyer
Getting produce to market is rarely free, and the cost quietly eats into the price you actually keep. It's driven by three things: how far the market is, how full you run the vehicle, and what fuel costs. Because trips are whole — you can't make half a journey — a part-load on the last trip costs the same as a full one. That's why a half-empty vehicle can double your cost per kg, and why consolidating loads is the single biggest saving you can make.
This tool turns those inputs into the numbers that matter: cost per kg, total cost, number of trips, cost per tonne and fuel used, in 8 currencies. Use it to price delivered produce, decide whether to run your own vehicle or hire haulage, and see exactly how much filling the vehicle saves. Pair it with the Packaging & Crate, Cold Storage Capacity and Storage Loss tools to plan the whole post-harvest chain.
Price delivered produce
Cover transport in your selling price.
Fill the vehicle
See how consolidating loads cuts cost per kg.
Own vs hire
Compare your cost per tonne against quotes.
Plan the fuel
Know fuel used and cost before you drive.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the produce transport cost per kg calculated?+
The tool first works out the number of trips as the load divided by the vehicle's capacity, rounded up. Fuel per round trip is (2 × distance ÷ mileage) × fuel price. Each trip costs fuel plus labour plus tolls, and the total across all trips divided by the load gives your cost per kg — the figure that eats into your farm-gate price.
Why are trips rounded up?+
A vehicle can only carry up to its capacity, so any load above a whole number of full loads still needs another trip. Trips = ⌈load ÷ vehicle capacity⌉. That means a part-load on the last trip costs the same as a full one — which is exactly why consolidating loads to fill the vehicle cuts your cost per kg.
Why is the distance doubled for fuel?+
Most produce runs are round trips — you drive loaded to the market and return empty. So fuel burned per trip is based on twice the one-way distance: (2 × distance ÷ mileage) × fuel price. If your vehicle is loaded both ways or makes one-way drops, you can halve the distance entry to model that.
How does vehicle fill affect the cost per kg?+
Hugely. A trip costs roughly the same whether the vehicle is half full or full, because fuel, labour and tolls are per trip, not per kg. Running a vehicle 50% full doubles your cost per kg versus running it full. Consolidating produce, pooling with neighbours, or right-sizing the vehicle are the biggest levers on transport cost.
What should I include in labour and tolls?+
Labour is the per-trip cost of the driver and any loaders/handlers; tolls cover road tolls, mandi entry fees, weighbridge charges and similar per-trip levies. Keep maintenance and vehicle depreciation separate unless you want a fully loaded cost — for that, add a per-trip share of those into the labour or tolls field.
What is cost per tonne and why show it?+
Cost per tonne is simply the cost per kg multiplied by 1000. Many buyers, transporters and contracts quote freight per tonne or per quintal, so showing both lets you compare your own cost against haulage quotes and decide whether to run your own vehicle or hire one.
Does it work in my currency and units?+
Yes — pick from 8 currencies and the tool keeps fuel price, labour, tolls and all the cost outputs consistent. Enter load and capacity in the same weight unit (kg) and distance and mileage in matching units so the fuel maths lines up for your region.
How can I bring the cost per kg down?+
Fill the vehicle (consolidate loads or pool with neighbours), cut empty running, choose a vehicle sized to your typical load, plan routes to reduce distance and tolls, and time trips to avoid repeat journeys. Because part-loads cost the same per trip, the single biggest win is usually loading closer to full capacity.
Are the figures exact?+
They're solid planning figures. Real costs vary with traffic, road condition, load type, vehicle age and fuel price swings, and mileage drops with a heavy load. Use realistic mileage for a loaded vehicle, update fuel price, and treat the result as a reliable per-kg estimate to guide pricing and logistics decisions.
Can it help me price my produce?+
Yes — knowing the transport cost per kg lets you set a farm-gate or market price that actually covers getting the produce there. Subtract it from your selling price to see your real net, or add it when quoting delivered prices, so transport never quietly erodes your margin.