It is a great honour to have been elected as the new chairman of the World Union of Wholesale Markets (WUWM). If someone had told me that this would be the case when I attended my first meeting in Florence in 1997, I would certainly not have believed them.

I have come to recognise over my years involved in WUWM the degree of strength, determination and teamwork present within the union - all of which contributes to its success and growth.

When WUWM took the decision to become a fully autonomous body in 2003, it was a turning point in its development. Under the chairmanship of previous colleagues, the profile, strength and results achieved by the organisation have been increasingly impressive. It is my aim to build on this work and continue to move WUWM forward in an equally successful and progressive manner.

In this short space it is not possible to go into detail on all the areas and activities to be pursued in the future, but there are, however, a couple of key issues that I would highlight.

One of the biggest problems still remaining is that those outside the wholesale and retail market sector do not understand the full range of benefits that markets provide and achieve for the societies in which they operate. Very few people not directly involved in markets really understand either the scale of the social and economic contributions made by markets to the towns, cities and regions within which they are situated, or their effectiveness and efficiency in terms of providing alternative routes of supply, as well as opportunities for competition and choice for growers, producers, and customers.

It is therefore essential to continue to find new routes towards increasing recognition and awareness amongst decision-makers and politicians at all levels. I believe the tool required to achieve this is knowledge.

Additionally, it used to be commonplace for operators and tenants of markets to have major differences in the agendas that they pursued, and the “us and them” attitude prevailed. Fortunately, this is becoming a thing of the past, and both sides now see the overriding benefits of working together. The next stage in this development of co-operative working within the food supply chain must be for market operators and traders to forge stronger links and bonds with their customers - whether they be retailers, processors, caterers, other small- and medium-sized enterprises, or even consumers. The efforts made to maintain and raise standards in the wholesale and retail sector to ensure that increasingly stringent regulations and customer demands are met, and that the exchange of best practice and knowledge takes place, must be continued. WUWM must also ensure that benefits in terms of design standards, operational standards - as well as offering advice on structures of ownership/management and funding opportunities - are continued.

WUWM is proud of the progress it has made to date, and we go into the future knowing that we are the world’s premier market organisation, supporting the role of food markets in local, regional and global food distribution and supply chains.