In normal times, a vegetable exporter assumes that 20% of the produce sent in a container will perish by the end of the voyage to international markets, and he prices the sent vegetables at Rs 2L per ton to enjoy a 20% profit. Due to difficult shipping conditions now, he estimates that 50% of his produce inside the container will become unsellable, despite transport costs per container also increasing from Rs 2L to Rs 4L. If a container can store 10 tons of vegetables, what would be the new price he would ask (per ton) to retain his profit?

A container holds $10$ tons of vegetables.

In normal times, $20\%$ perishes, so sellable quantity $= 10 \times 0.8 = 8$ tons.

He sells at Rs $2$L per ton, so:

Revenue $= 8 \times 2 = 16$L

Since this gives him a $20\%$ profit:

Total Cost $= \dfrac{16}{1.2} = 13.33$L

This total cost includes transport (Rs $2$L) and the cost of goods:

Cost of goods $= 13.33 - 2 = 11.33$L

We separate these because transport cost changes in the new scenario, but the cost of goods stays the same.

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In the new scenario:

• $50\%$ perishes → sellable quantity $= 10 \times 0.5 = 5$ tons
• Transport cost rises from Rs $2$L to Rs $4$L
• Cost of goods remains Rs $11.33$L

New total cost $= 11.33 + 4 = 15.33$L

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He still wants a $20\%$ profit, so:

Required revenue $= 15.33 \times 1.2 = 18.4$L

This revenue must come from just $5$ sellable tons:

New price per ton $= \dfrac{18.4}{5} = 3.68$L

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The new price he would ask is Rs $3.68$L per ton.