Vegetables and Fungi

Executive Summary: Payment Behaviour in the vegetables and fungi Sector

Upon reviewing the financial data for the vegetables and fungi sector, we have analysed the payment practices of 37 representative companies to determine the industry's prevailing credit culture. The data reveals a payment environment that gravitates towards a moderate delay, with the central tendency metrics showing an average payment time of 36.5 days and a median of 35 days. This close alignment between the mean and median suggests a relatively symmetrical distribution, indicating that the sector’s behaviour is consistent and not heavily skewed by extreme outliers. However, with a standard deviation of 11.3 days, suppliers must realise that there is still a notable variance in settlement speeds. Whilst the sector avoids critical delinquency—evidenced by the complete absence of companies averaging over 90 days to pay—it is clear that prompt payment is not the standard operation for the majority of these organisations.

A deeper examination of the distribution and quartile data allows us to organise the companies into distinct performance bands. The analysis highlights that the sector is heavily weighted towards the 'Moderate' category (31–45 days), which comprises 48.6% of the sample. When aggregated with the 'Fast' payers (0–30 days), we observe that over 75% of the companies settle their debts within 45 days. The interquartile range of 17 days (spanning from 28 to 45 days) further reinforces the observation that most finance departments in this sector operate within a standardised monthly to six-week payment cycle. Nevertheless, credit controllers should remain vigilant; whilst the fastest payer settled accounts in an impressive 13 days, the slowest payer stretched terms to 63 days. Furthermore, a significant minority of the sector (21.6%) falls into the 'Slow' category (46–60 days), presenting a tangible cash flow risk for vendors who do not favour strict credit limits.

Finally, when we scrutinise the specific performance breakdown, a complex picture of payment reliability emerges. Although only 27% of the companies are classified strictly as 'Fast' payers based on their average, the transaction data shows that 49.1% of actual payments are made within 30 days. This discrepancy suggests that companies may prioritise smaller invoices or key strategic suppliers whilst delaying others. Despite this, the prevalence of late payments is a pressing concern, with 36.1% of all obligations being settled past the agreed terms. This behaviour is particularly prevalent amongst the 9.5% of payments that drag on beyond 60 days. Geographically, the sample is concentrated in the East Midlands and South East, yet the data implies a systemic practice rather than a regional anomaly. Consequently, suppliers wishing to specialise in serving the vegetables and fungi market must implement robust dunning processes to mitigate the risk of late settlement.