Fruit and vegetable wholesalers are calling on the Melbourne Market Authority (MMA) Board to resign over a major rent dispute. The Government-owned MMA, which serves as the market's landlord, plans to increase the annual rent for its wholesaler tenants by over 100 per cent over the next 10-years.
Speaking on behalf of its wholesaler members, Fresh State CEO Jason Cooper said the proposed rent increase is a "complete stuff-up". Mr Cooper said the MMA's "grab for cash" - in the form of a future rent roll - would not only push fruit and vegetable prices up, but also push
wholesalers out of business, and push families, restaurants, and grocers to the brink.
In a scathing attack on the MMA, Mr. Cooper said the Board and its CEO had utterly lost the trust of market tenants because they:
1. No longer represented or advocated for the interests of wholesalers.
2. Had promoted and defended the rent increase via the media prior to any decision having
been made, which had angered and frustrated wholesalers.
3. Lacked an understanding of the wholesale industry and had made no effort to educate
themselves about it.
4. Were making it nearly impossible for Victorian wholesalers to compete against other
interstate central markets.
5. Had shown no care for the impact of the rent increase on the availability and affordability of
fresh fruit and vegetables as an essential service.
6. Had no understanding of how the rent increase will damage the lives and livelihoods of
wholesalers and independents, such as grocers, supermarkets, and restaurants, who rely on
wholesalers.
7. Were in direct violation of the Melbourne Market Authority Act 1977, which mandates a
"fair and competitive environment for the wholesale trading of produce".
8. Had taken steps to decentralise the market rather than foster unity, which was a primary
objective when the first wholesale market was established in 1878.
9. Failed to recognise that the rent increase will discourage people from consuming fresh fruit
and veg, and pile on more cost-of-living pressures.
10. Once again, had let down wholesalers, further eroding their trust.
"The MMA appears to have lost sight of why the wholesaler market was established back in
1878. It was never intended to be a profit-making venture at the expense of wholesalers, yet
that's precisely the path the MMA is now taking," Cooper said.
Fresh State today launched its Take the Pressure Off Campaign on behalf of its wholesaler
members, aiming to take the pressure off fruit and vegetable prices and temporarily freeze rent at the wholesale market. Mr Cooper said the Campaign sought to establish a viable, long-term commercial arrangement for wholesalers. He emphasised the Campaign would gain momentum in the coming days and weeks.
For more information:
Richard Amos
Tel: +61 0418 344978
[email protected]
www.freshstate.com.au/PressureOff/