WUWM’s secretary general Maria Cavit is hoping the Baltimore congress will provide an opportunity to roll out the market survey issued last year to establish the importance of wholesale markets in food distribution.
Of the 112 markets which have so far responded to the survey, only 20 are outside of the EU and a greater response from other nationalities would benefit WUWM’s research in providing a more accurate global picture of the sector.
Despite ongoing suggestions of decline, according to the results gathered so far, wholesale markets are still a hugely important resource for national food supply. More than 31 million tonnes of fresh produce are sold around the world and some 300 million consumers are partly dependent on wholesale markets for their daily nutrition.
The majority of markets (53 per cent) are still owned and managed by the public sector, although there has been a move towards public-private ownership and management in the EU with 41 per cent of European member markets opting for partnered ownership and 54 per cent preferring joint management.
Fruit and vegetables are still the mainstay of wholesale trade, with 97 per cent marketing fresh produce. However, the report suggests change is afoot and markets are clearly diversifying their activities, in order to appeal to a wider customer-base. Many are making efforts to extend the services they provide, in terms of product variety, and less traditional sectors are gaining impetus, with many markets offering flowers and associated products, and non-food activities, such as transport and offices.
Cavit says wholesale markets are also successful in creating consumer choice, often being the best source of ethnic products which retailers have phased out due to insufficient demand.
They also play an important socio-economic role, employing 55 people per hectare, with operation costs kept to just above one per cent of the value of the marketed products. The results of the survey suggest this role is recognised by the markets’ surrounding communities with 85 per cent of markets recognised as a public service.
According to Cavit, any suggestion that wholesale is a dying sector would be negated by the realisation that redevelopment has been occurring or is imminent at the majority of sites. The survey concludes that 92 per cent of markets invested significantly between 2000-2003 on maintenance, new building construction, upgrades or improvements to the efficiency of individual wholesalers. Relocation is on the horizon for 10 per cent of markets and 84 per cent have development plans outlined for the near future.
MARYLAND HOSTS WORLD CONGRESS
The Maryland Food Centre Authority (MFCA) is to host the twenty-fourth congress of the World Union of Wholesale Markets (WUWM) in Baltimore, Maryland, from September 18-21 2005.
The theme of this year’s event is “Modern Trends in Food Distribution...from Grower to Consumer”. The biennial WUWM Congress is the largest international forum for communication between the management of wholesale market authorities and food industry professionals.
MFCA executive director, Donald Darnall, is enthusiastic about the event and pleased the United States has the opportunity to support such an occasion.
“WUWM congresses are an excellent forum for the promotion of wholesale markets as effective tools for ensuring food security and distribution,” he says. “Today the global food supply chain is changing at a rapid pace. To survive and be effective, everyone in the food industry needs to be aware of what is changing, and how and when to react to these changes.”
Plenary sessions will include a current food industry overview, discussions on recent challenges to the food supply chain, identification of the role and expected future of wholesale food markets, discussions on issues related to the practical management of wholesale and retail markets, and provide an overview of new wholesale market initiatives and developments.
Delegates will also be given the opportunity to visit Maryland wholesale produce and seafood markets.
Darnall is hoping the three-day event will generate interest from a wide proportion of the world’s wholesale sector.
“This congress should attract at least 400 wholesale market managers from around the world, and I am excited by the quality of speakers who will participate in our discussions,” he says.
PADUA TACKLES OBESITY PROBLEM
Francesco Cera, general manager of Padua’s fruit and vegetable wholesale market will address delegates in Baltimore on the market’s project targeting teenage obesity.
Backed by Padua’s chamber of commerce, and the School Services branch of Padua Municipality, the market has been supplying 20,000kg of fruit for more than 1,300 11-year olds in 22 schools four times a week at no cost to the schools.
Cera says plans for the project were sparked by an awareness of a worrying decline in the consumption of fruit and vegetables among teenagers. For people aged between 10 and 30, consumption has dropped by at least five per cent year-on-year
Following the success of a pilot experiment last year, the project was re-introduced this year and will run until the school breaks for the summer holidays at the end of June.
In addition to the healthy snack for morning break, the children will benefit from workshop sessions about the nutritional value of food, accompanied by attractive promotional material.
The project will continue for three years, during which the Food and Nutrition Sanitary Service of Padua will monitor the pupils’ obesity levels to record any improvements.
At the same time the market will hold several open days to support the initiative and encourage further interest in fresh produce.
HAMBURG HUGS COMMUNITY
In germany, Hamburg’s wholesale market has been embracing the community. Between May and September, the market will hold a total of 24 promotions at street markets in the vicinity to inform consumers about the products it has to offer.
On top of this educational opportunity, the general public will also have the chance to enter a competition to win various prizes including a holiday voucher valued at e5,000.
These activities form part of Hamburg’s long-term objective to raise awareness and consumption of fruit and vegetables. The city has organised a number of campaigns at 50 kindergartens in and around the city, with a focus on getting children to appreciate the health benefits of fresh produce.
Wolf Rohde, Hamburg market’s managing director says: “Fruit and vegetables are good for your health and help guard against various illnesses. The foundations of a healthy lifestyle are laid during a person’s childhood, which is why we are determined to get the message across to a very young age group.”
The children’s educational activities will include physical and visual recognition of fruit and veg as well as discussions of its origins and journey to the market.
“We hope to introduce around 3,000 children between the ages of three and six-years-old to the idea of healthy eating,” says Rohde. “It’s a real pleasure to awaken their interest in the wide variety of fruits and vegetables that are available to them.”
A number of German markets will also be involved in various promotional initiatives in association with some major international suppliers, including Zespri. New Zealand’s major kiwi marketing organisation will be expanding its ongoing co-operation with the German Markets Association (GFI), this year, with the addition of a promotional tour bus.
According to Uwe Kluge, managing director of Bremen market and GFI member, the association and its member wholesale markets will once again be marking the start of Zespri’s kiwifruit season with around 35 promotions at street markets in Hamburg, Bremen, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Frankfurt, Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart and Munich. “Wholesale market teams will be assisting at many of these events which aim to appeal to the hearts and minds of quality conscious consumers,” he says.
The gold bus will be on tour for seven weeks and will be used in conjunction with the promotional activities.
In addition, at the end of August the wholesale markets in Bremen, Duisburg, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Munich will be supporting the campaigns for school beginners, aiming to present more than 15,000 new pupils with Zespri lunch boxes containing kiwifruit.
Kluge says the coverage generated by such promotions is hugely beneficial especially in enabling direct communication with children.
WUWM GUIDE
In preparation for the updating of the EC hygiene regulations set for January 2006, a group of six WUWM members have drafted a guide to good practice for European wholesale markets.
As of January the existing regulations, which have become fairly complicated will be rationalised to three clear issues, according to Graham Wallace, group markets manager at Glasgow City Council and co-author of the report. He says the guide has been approved by all the European market associations and may be rolled out further afield if non-European markets express the same interest.
“With the consolidation of the regulations wholesalers would then become FBOs (food business operators),” he explains. “We wanted to have some form of help guide for market managers and traders to refer to. It is a voluntary thing as all guides are but it is a useful tool to give an indication of where the risks are.”
The guide will be discussed next week at the joint WUWM and Freshfel meeting in Barcelona, and if approved by the appointed scientific body, it should be available for use on the markets before the end of the year.
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