Sep 8th 2011, 22:56:26
This would be a bonanza in Canada, at least, because the produce is insanely over priced to begin with. The lament (even in the article) that transportation costs (50% of costs of a head of lettuce sold in NY) is overblown. Maybe 50% of wholesale price. Long haul trucking companies charge somewhere around 1.5$/mile and haul about 40,000 lbs in a load. From California to Nova Scotia, around 3,800 miles. That gives about 15c/lb once you factor in local transportation. If that is 50% of the cost then the head of lettuce costs about 10-15c. You buy it at the store for 1.50$ or more.
And that's among the cheaper produce in terms of $/lb. Look at the high value stuff - avocados (I pay 1.5$ each.... in Cali they sell for 15c. Transpo cost is about 4-5c).
I mean what supermarket in Canada would let some schmuck company setup on their rooftops when the margins on the products are so insanely high that they couldn't possibly fail to generate profit by doing the same? It's not like greenhouses on rooftops is a copyrighted idea. I'd love to see it done around where I live, except that the novelty would give them an excuse to jack up produce costs even more.