Total loss of agricultural fresh products amounts to 20% through 60% of the total amount of harvested products in any country, requiring an effective supply chain management model in agro-industry. This paper constructs a basic model of agricultural fresh products by formulating the plant growing process and the loss process of fresh products in mathematical forms. The model deals with periodical harvests through periodical flowering to satisfy demand. It is assumed that any on-hand inventory is not carried through more than one period and that any requirement for harvesting fresh products should be satisfied through the earliest plant maturing as possible. An optimal harvesting pattern is derived analytically to maximize the demand level satisfied. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.