Vegetables, fruit and berries from farmers: how to buy in bulk at a good price
Season and storage decide the price
Vegetables and fruit are cheapest in season and straight from the grower. Potatoes, onions and apples for storage are best bought just after harvest, while strawberries, blueberries or mushrooms are a product for a few days, so timing matters more than anything. If you are planning to make preserves and pickles, order in advance and state the date in your request.
Variety and size
- For storage, people choose varieties that keep well: this depends on the crop, so ask the seller. For fruit going into jam or juice, size does not matter; for selling in a shop, it does.
- Potatoes differ by use: boiling, mashing and frying need different varieties, so name the variety in your request or ask what it suits.
- Berries can be fresh or frozen; for frozen ones, ask whether they were flash-frozen and not thawed on the way.
- Mushrooms: fresh, dried or pickled are different products. If you buy wild ones, make sure the seller knows them and that they are not poisonous lookalikes.
What to put in your request
- what exactly — crop and variety: potatoes, apples, strawberries, blueberries, mushrooms;
- volume — in kilograms or tonnes;
- fresh or processed — fresh, frozen, dried, pickled;
- variety and size — large, for storage, for processing;
- packing — sacks, nets of 25 kg, crates;
- one-off or regular — for example weekly for a cafe;
- timing — by what date;
- delivery city and budget per kilogram.
Example: “I need 500 kg of large potatoes for storage, in nets of 25 kg. Pick-up by 10 October, or delivery by truck to Johannesburg. Budget up to R 16 per kg.”
How searching works on BlaBlaPrice
Instead of going round markets and asking friends for farmers, you describe what you need on the home page. The request is checked and goes to sellers of vegetables and fruit, who reply in the chat: what they grow, the variety and size, the price per kilogram, when you can get it and whether they deliver. The best offer by content is shown first, with seller reviews beside each one.
Each seller sees their place among the others, so they compete for your request. Your phone is hidden; only the seller you choose gets your contacts. More on the How it works page.
How to compare offers
Compare the price per kilogram and check whether it includes delivery or packing. Ask about the date of picking and where it was stored: for long storage, a dry, cool store room matters. For a cafe or shop, agree on a trial batch and a delivery schedule. Ask for a photo of the actual batch, not a stock image.
Related sections: grains, flour and groceries and meat and poultry.
