DISTRIBUTION DETECTIVE · Onion (2023 basis)

Of ₩10,000 of onions, how much reaches the farmer?

Unbranded commodity · Storage temperature unknown · Domestic · Checked 2026-10-09

Known 13 · Estimated 0 · Reported 0 · Unknown 3

Consumer price
100% VERIFIEDWhy do we know this?
Status: VERIFIED — Confirmed by an official document, listing or statistic
Source: 세계일보 — 농산물 유통비용률 2023년 기준 49.2%… 월동무 78.1%·양파 72.4%(2025.9.15, aT 유통실태 인용) · 세계일보(한국농수산식품유통공사 자료 인용) · checked 2026-10-09
Factory / producer price
27.6% VERIFIEDWhy do we know this?
Status: VERIFIED — Confirmed by an official document, listing or statistic
Source: 세계일보 — 농산물 유통비용률 2023년 기준 49.2%… 월동무 78.1%·양파 72.4%(2025.9.15, aT 유통실태 인용) · 세계일보(한국농수산식품유통공사 자료 인용) · checked 2026-10-09
Farmer share = 100 − distribution cost rate 72.4%
Distribution spread72.4%
Hand-offs4
Largest known increaseAll distribution stages (shipping, wholesale, retail) 72.4% VERIFIED
Unresolved share0% (0.0%)

Tap a number to see its source, date and method.

PRICE WATERFALL

Where the price was added

  1. Farm gate
    27.6% VERIFIEDWhy do we know this?
    Status: VERIFIED — Confirmed by an official document, listing or statistic
    Source: 세계일보 — 농산물 유통비용률 2023년 기준 49.2%… 월동무 78.1%·양파 72.4%(2025.9.15, aT 유통실태 인용) · 세계일보(한국농수산식품유통공사 자료 인용) · checked 2026-10-09
    Running 27.6%
  2. + All distribution stages (shipping, wholesale, retail)
    72.4% VERIFIEDWhy do we know this?
    Status: VERIFIED — Confirmed by an official document, listing or statistic
    Source: 세계일보 — 농산물 유통비용률 2023년 기준 49.2%… 월동무 78.1%·양파 72.4%(2025.9.15, aT 유통실태 인용) · 세계일보(한국농수산식품유통공사 자료 인용) · checked 2026-10-09
    Stage split unknown
    Running 100%
  3. = Consumer price
    100% VERIFIEDWhy do we know this?
    Status: VERIFIED — Confirmed by an official document, listing or statistic
    Source: 세계일보 — 농산물 유통비용률 2023년 기준 49.2%… 월동무 78.1%·양파 72.4%(2025.9.15, aT 유통실태 인용) · 세계일보(한국농수산식품유통공사 자료 인용) · checked 2026-10-09

Dashed boxes are steps with no public data. After an unknown step the running price is not computed. Blue bars are estimates.

DISTRIBUTION FLOW

The actual path

  1. FarmerProducer · confirmed
    Out
    27.6% VERIFIEDWhy do we know this?
    Status: VERIFIED — Confirmed by an official document, listing or statistic
    Source: 세계일보 — 농산물 유통비용률 2023년 기준 49.2%… 월동무 78.1%·양파 72.4%(2025.9.15, aT 유통실태 인용) · 세계일보(한국농수산식품유통공사 자료 인용) · checked 2026-10-09

    What it does: Growing and harvesting

    Pricing role: Unknown

  2. Shipping stage (storage, grading, transport)Local collection / shipping · confirmed
    Added
    ? UNKNOWNWhy do we know this?
    Status: UNKNOWN — No public evidence; left blank on purpose
    Per-stage shares for onion not in the source
    If you know it, use “Report the supply chain” below.

    What it does: Cold storage, grading and packing, transport

    Pricing role: Unknown · holds inventory

  3. Wholesale stageWholesaler · confirmed
    Added
    ? UNKNOWNWhy do we know this?
    Status: UNKNOWN — No public evidence; left blank on purpose
    If you know it, use “Report the supply chain” below.

    What it does: Auction and trading, distribution

    Pricing role: Unknown

  4. Retail stageRetailer · confirmed
    Added
    ? UNKNOWNWhy do we know this?
    Status: UNKNOWN — No public evidence; left blank on purpose
    If you know it, use “Report the supply chain” below.

    What it does: Small packs, selling, shrinkage

    Pricing role: Unknown

  5. ConsumerConsumer · confirmed

    Pricing role: Unknown

Dashed lines mean the step is not confirmed for this product. More steps are not automatically bad — each does work (distribution, storage, financing, inventory risk).

WHO GOT THE MONEY?

Who got the money?

Farmer
27.6% VERIFIEDWhy do we know this?
Status: VERIFIED — Confirmed by an official document, listing or statistic
Source: 세계일보 — 농산물 유통비용률 2023년 기준 49.2%… 월동무 78.1%·양파 72.4%(2025.9.15, aT 유통실태 인용) · 세계일보(한국농수산식품유통공사 자료 인용) · checked 2026-10-09
(27.6%)
Shipping, wholesale and retail combined
72.4% VERIFIEDWhy do we know this?
Status: VERIFIED — Confirmed by an official document, listing or statistic
Source: 세계일보 — 농산물 유통비용률 2023년 기준 49.2%… 월동무 78.1%·양파 72.4%(2025.9.15, aT 유통실태 인용) · 세계일보(한국농수산식품유통공사 자료 인용) · checked 2026-10-09
(72.4%)
Unresolved share0% (0.0%)

Shares we cannot confirm stay unresolved instead of being forced to 100%. A stage’s share includes logistics, staff, rent, waste and tax — it is not its profit.

INDICATORS

Indicators

Producer share
Producer revenue ÷ consumer price
27.6% VERIFIED
Distribution spread
Consumer − producer price: every cost and margin in between, not a profit
72.4% VERIFIED
Price multiplier
Consumer ÷ producer price
3.62× VERIFIED
Markup
(sale − acquisition) ÷ acquisition
Unknown
Gross margin
(sale − acquisition) ÷ sale
Unknown
Gross margin ≠ net profit

A gross margin is not a net margin after rent, staff, logistics and head-office costs. Markup and gross margin are computed only from a documented or reviewed-report acquisition cost, never from an AMS estimate. Operating and net margins are quoted separately, only from company filings.

A multiplier is not “N times profiteering”; it shows how many times the producer price grew on the way to the shopper.

PRICE CONTROL MAP

Who sets the price?

FarmerUnknown
Shipping stage (storage, grading, transport)Unknown
Wholesale stageUnknown
Retail stageUnknown

Stages without evidence stay Unknown. Pricing power is not turned into a score.

EVIDENCE

What we know

Onion distribution cost rate (2023 basis)72.4% — second only to winter radish (78.1%) VERIFIED
For comparison: all produce49.2% VERIFIED
For comparison: rice and grains35.9% VERIFIED
For comparison: sweet potato · leafy/root veg70.4% · 64.3% VERIFIED
Production countryKorea VERIFIED
Origin labelDomestic VERIFIED

DETECTIVE RADAR

Onion (2023 basis) from other angles

  • Origin DetectiveApplies · not analysed yet
  • Cost DetectiveApplies · not analysed yet
  • Distribution DetectiveThis page
  • Inflation DetectiveApplies · not analysed yet
  • Value DetectiveApplies · not analysed yet
  • Hogu IndexApplies · not analysed yet
  • Tax DetectiveApplies · not analysed yet
  • Wage DetectiveApplies · not analysed yet
  • Ingredient Detective (food & drinks)Applies · not analysed yet
  • Regulation DetectiveApplies · not analysed yet

✓ analysed · △ applies, not analysed yet · not applicable: Discount Detective, Hype Detective, Privacy Detective · All axes on one page

WE DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING

Gaps still open

  • Onion’s split by stage and by direct/indirect/profit — needs the aT per-item tables
  • How much of the rate is cold storage and storage losses

Read with care

  • An annual average; onion prices differ a lot between harvest and stored-crop seasons.
  • A high rate does not by itself mean intermediaries kept a lot: bulky, heavy produce with storage, grading and losses is costly to move. The rural economics institute noted shorter shelf life pushes the rate up.

No official company response yet. Companies can send corrections or responses with evidence; they will be shown here.

INDUSTRY REPORT

Report the supply chain

Insiders can report actual supply prices, logistics fees, commissions, promotion funding, return terms, rebates or PB contract terms. We do not collect names, contacts or files, and never publish who reported. Published values are labelled “industry reported” with a confidence level.

Evidence you could show (we may ask later, with personal data and trade secrets removed)

Review: received → anonymised → evidence checked → cross-checked with public data → confidence set → published. A report alone is never published as fact.

Sources

  1. 세계일보 — 농산물 유통비용률 2023년 기준 49.2%… 월동무 78.1%·양파 72.4%(2025.9.15, aT 유통실태 인용) · 세계일보(한국농수산식품유통공사 자료 인용) · checked 2026-10-09

Status labels: VERIFIED · ESTIMATED · INDUSTRY REPORTED · USER REPORTED · UNKNOWN