Economics of Opening a Bakery

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Mario was thinking of going into the bakery business. Mario knows that the bakery business holds a lot of uncertainty, his decision about prices, cost and production are critical for business survival, at the same time; he has to determine the pulse of the market. However, if he decides to work in another business, his choice will involve an opportunity cost. If Mario decides to push for the bakery business, he needs some money to start up his business.

Total fixed Cost

Mario first decision is buy an oven. He thinks about this choice, there are so many ovens in the market. There are electricity fed oven, gas fed a combination of electricity and gas or he can have the old-fashioned wood fed oven. For a starter he choose a small type gas fed oven that can cost P40,000. The electricity and gas fed model cost P500,000. Mario chooses the small gas fed oven, he is thinking of the depreciation of the equipment and the opportunity cost. The oven is a fixed input its cost does not vary with the number of output produced. Now, even if Mario use or do not use the oven it depreciates. The depreciation cost is a fixed cost. Mario choose the small gas fed model that cost P40,000. This oven can bake 500 pieces of bread in an 8-hour operation.

Calculating Fixed Cost

The oven depreciate in 20 years with no salvage value therefore the depreciation cost is (1/20) (P40,000) P2,000/year. In a day of operation the fixed cost is P2,000/yr x 1 year/365 days = P0.54

Total Variable Cost

Mario is thinking about the variable cost of running the business. He needs workers, baking equipment, flour, lard, oil, water, sugar, yeast and baking powder and fuel. These items are the variable cost for baking these varies with the quantity of bread produced. If ...

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...ery reserve of replacement parts, equipment and maintenance workers who can repair random equipment breakdown increases less than the increases in the size of the bakery. The maintenance cost spread over a large volume of output thereby reducing the average cost per unit.

Firm-level economies, a situation where economies of scale occur due to a multi-product and multi-plant firm. Attainment of efficiency is through the reduction of delivery cost due to the geographically dispersed multi-operational plants. In addition, the firm can secure quantity discount in advertising media and can spread their advertising fixed cost over more units produced. It is also easier for large firm to engage in technological advancement through their research and development (R&D) activities. They can spread the cost of buying expensive equipment and hiring research personnel.

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