The various fresh produce markets in SA’s major cities are a key part of the country’s agricultural sector. They help ensure market access for farmers and enable traders, vendors and other stakeholders to secure the produce they need to resell in their areas.
The efficiency of the fresh produce markets also helps with price discovery, which is critical for sellers and buyers. Their proper functioning and speedy transfer of information helps ensure affordable fresh produce prices for consumers and minimises price manipulation.
The responsibility of maintaining such markets generally lies with local governments; if they are not properly maintained it results in food safety risks as well as inefficiencies in price discovery. That is why concern has been expressed that more must be done to ensure SA’s municipalities function properly and that they appreciate the importance of fresh produce markets — not just as income generators, but also as part of maintaining our food distribution system.
I am making this point because the Tshwane Fresh Produce Market is in the news after the Gauteng High Court ordered the mayor and municipal manager to present a comprehensive plan to repair its market. The Tshwane Fresh Produce Market is one of SA’s largest, and its various stakeholders have long been unhappy with its inefficient management and neglect of maintenance.
A few weeks ago the Agricultural Business Chamber of SA and various other agricultural stakeholders met Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya, who was not party to the many years of neglect of the market, having only assumed office in October 2024. Still, she is in charge now, and one of the issues we raised with her was the deteriorating state of the Tshwane market. We also emphasised its importance to food security and for the livelihoods of many farmers and agricultural stakeholders in the province. She took the message to heart and her team followed up with a draft investment and revitalisation plan, for the city as a whole and specifically for the fresh produce market.
Timely revitalisation
The legal matter will run its course. Still, I think the many agricultural stakeholders who attended the mayor’s agricultural stakeholders dinner should work on improving the draft plan that was shared with us, and see how we can enhance the revitalisation of the Tshwane Fresh Produce Market.
That will take more than just the efforts of willing stakeholders. Tshwane’s leadership will have to nudge many people involved in the fresh produce value chain to be more collaborative with the private sector. We should also entertain the idea of further private sector involvement in the running and management of the market. The details of what such an arrangement would look like are something affected stakeholders should explore.
What is clear to me is that we have a mayor who is open to dialogue on how to improve the functioning of the market, and who is interested in investments by the private sector. Moya will have to mobilise her officials, while the private sector can also explore ways to collaborate and rescue the market from its current degraded state. There must be a decent budget for maintenance, cleanliness and hygiene; we must deal with market waste; and we must ring-fence some of the funds paid by agents and traders at the market for reinvestment in the market infrastructure.
The discussion needs to go further than Tshwane by assessing the state of the fresh produce markets in other municipalities. There is a cost burden to consumers and many others involved in the market if our municipalities aren’t running markets appropriately and service delivery is inadequate.
The current poor state of many SA fresh produce markets also limits the participation of new entrant farmers and stakeholders in the agricultural sector.
• Sihlobo is chief economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber of SA and a senior fellow in Stellenbosch University’s department of agricultural economics.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.