Covent Garden Tenants Association (CGTA) Chairman Gary Marshall visited Melbourne Market (MM), the only wholesale fruit, vegetable and cut flower trading centre in Victoria, Australia, earlier this month. He was struck by the fact that while the two historic markets are separated by 10,400 miles, the challenges faced by traders are broadly the same.

Gary met with a group from the Melbourne Market Authority (MMA), led on the morning by Chief Operating Officer Syed Shahed and Operations Manager Seini Malu, and also his contemporaries at Fresh State - a member organisation representing the interests of Melbourne’s wholesalers and associated service industries - Chairman Shane Schnitzler of Produce Time, Exec member Michael Barker of Barkers, and full-time Fresh State CEO Jason Cooper.

He was shown around a nearly-new market that was moved from the centre of Melbourne to Epping, around 12 miles out of the city, a decade ago. Boasting 93,000 square metres of on-site warehousing, the Victorian market also claims to have 3,000 businesses operating on-site, from growers, to wholesalers to provedores (catering suppliers) and buyers. The expansive site is notable for the 800 ‘golf’ buggies being used by those businesses to ferry themselves around the large complex.

Gary said: “There are obvious differences between the way MM has been developed and what is happening at New Covent Garden Market, most notably the sheer amount of space that they have in Epping compared to the comparatively cramped environment we work in being so close to the centre of London. The fruit and vegetables buyers’ walk is similar to ours, but has a far, far wider central aisle, as one example. It’s an impressive site to look at, but because it covers 84 acres, trade is more spread out and there appears to be an ocean of unused land. That sounds good in principle as it offers room for expansion, but for the wholesalers I spoke to, it has caused its own operational issues.

“Talking with the traders, it was interesting to hear that many of the talking points are similar to the issues we discuss at home,” Gary added. “For instance: the antisocial hours and impact that has on attracting young talent; dwindling face-to-face trade; increasing operating costs; and the lack of flexibility in their newly built market to adapt to market requirements. What seemed like a good idea 20 years ago does not necessarily reflect what works now in this fast-changing world – that’s something we can definitely resonate with in Nine Elms.”

One thing that has begun to be addressed at the Epping site, is the trading hours. Although traders stressed that many still work through the night and that the official trading hours of 3am to 7.30am represent just a portion of their daily work, Gary said that there is a lesson to be learnt for NCGM’s wholesalers preparing to relocate to new premises next month.

“What they have understood in Melbourne is that the long trading hours have become unsustainable, not just for them and their staff, but their customers too,” Gary said. “Recruitment and costs have become a massive problem for wholesalers around the world and it’s not an easy thing to change, but when the rest of the wholesalers move into our new block at NCGM on January 12^th we’ve got to be engaged in ensuring that market is a place that works for ourselves and also remains a place that works for our customers in the future. Fifteen and sixteen-hour days, six days a week just can’t work anymore. Most people in the fruit and vegetable Melbourne work five days a week, the flower market is three days a week – it takes some adapting to, but it isn’t having a detrimental impact on trade.”

Syed and Seini talked the CGTA Chair and NCGM press officer Tommy Leighton through the rest of the Melbourne Market facilities, which also feature a range of support businesses including a recycling transfer station, vehicle and equipment hire and servicing, LPG and diesel refuelling stations, cafes, a truck wash and retail supply stores.

“Thank you to Syed and his team for taking the time to show me and Tommy around,” Gary said. “It was a very interesting and informative morning and it’s always a pleasure to meet up with fellow wholesalers from different parts of the world. They were even kind enough to keep mentions of the cricket to once every couple of minutes, which was far better than we expected!”

For more information about Melbourne Market, click here