In the True Cost Flower we communicate costs per hectare (or acre) per year. For example, the True Cost advantage of our Argentinian organic pears relative to conventional pears is €2,290 per hectare of orchard per year. This amount is for climate, soil, and water added up. The advantages for health, biodiversity, and social cohesion are not included in this total — that would make the amount considerably higher. In terms of kgs, the cost advantage is 5.7 eurocents per kg for these organic pears. We prefer to use the number per hectare though, for several reasons. One is that the calculations are not complete yet, so direct price comparisons will not be representative. Secondly, this stays closer to the FAO model, which also provides numbers per hectare. Production in kgs can vary widely from year to year due to weather variations, while the farm methods (and costs) stay exactly the same. Last but not least, the price in the store can vary widely during the year, depending on demand and availability, which will obscure the relationship between cost and price.
