[lxmorj]

That’s silly. A single buyer doesn’t have to buy the entire supply in one shot. They could easily say “We buy the cheapest marginal salt in any quantity until our total capacity is met. You must beat $CANADA_PRICE + $IMPORT_PRICE, as well as $NY_PRICE + $TRANSPORT_PRICE or we’ll have to buy from them instead”.

[sandworm101]

The parent spoke of "winner take all procurement", which is a very different concept than "single buyer".

[enkid]

I believe that's what your parent post is saying.