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11 November 2005 |
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Farmers' markets are sprouting up, as shoppers spurn supermarkets to buy locally grown produce. New Zealand has about 12 farmers' markets, in many provincial centres, such as Marlborough, Oamaru and, from last week, Nelson.
In the last four years the Marlborough market, which runs on Sundays for three hours, has put $2 million into producers' pockets. About 3500 people attended Nelson's first market, and all the food was sold in an hour and a half.
The markets cut out the middle-men and the hidden costs of retailing charges and provided an alternative to the one-stop shops, said New Zealand Farmers' Markets Association (NZFMA) vice-chairman Chris Fortune. The markets were in a growth phase, and the NZFMA was looking to double numbers by the end of next year.
They provided an outlet for farmers who found it difficult to sell goods in the traditional market system at a time when edible produce was being sourced from thousands of kilometres away, he said.
"The classic example is tomatoes. Everyone complains how bad they taste and what they used to be like. The idea of the farmers' market is that they are picked and sold. They have flavour and taste, no chemicals, can be organically grown and are not sitting on supermarket shelves."
Farmers' markets began in Hawkes Bay and Marlborough less than seven years ago, but have been in the United States for hundreds of years and Europe for thousands of years. In New Zealand, markets are restricted to selling edible produce grown from the local area. The stallholders must be primary producers.
Fortune, a chef and former restaurant owner, began the Marlborough market five years ago. He said the markets would assist producers in provincial areas under pressure from monocultures such as mass vineyard planting in Marlborough.
"We were losing a lot of our small producers because they cannot sell their produce at a realistic price," he said.
Last Saturday a summer farmers' market opened in Deans Bush, Riccarton, and the Lyttelton Farmer's Market has run since September. There will be a push in the next year to set up markets in more towns and in Wellington and Auckland.
In Hawkes Bay, the market has become a good testing ground for food producers, spawning five export businesses.
A series of eight workshops around the country is being run in the next month by the NZFMA, with support from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. They will be presented by Australian Farmers' Markets Association chairman Jane Adams and NZFMA interim chairman Ian Thomas.
The South Island leg includes Oamaru on November 28, Invercargill on November 30, and Christchurch on December 1
