The Fresh Produce Market Inquiry (FPMI) that was set up by the Competition Commission in March has advised that it will embark on a series of workshops with small-scale and emerging farmers in September until the first week of October.

The workshops will take place in Limpopo’s Vhembe district on September 5 and 6, Limpopo’s Mopani/Tzaneen district on September 12 and 13, the Eastern Cape’s Keiskammahoek region from September 18 to 20, KwaZulu-Natal’s Tugela region on September 27 and 28 and in the Western Cape’s Vredendal-Clanwilliam region between October 2 and 6.

The inquiry intends to engage fresh produce farmers on their experiences with the market and determine whether they face challenges related to market access, discrimination in the procurement of inputs, including price discrimination, unfair treatment in the sale of their produce, issues with access to finance or issues with access to water.

The views gathered from the workshops will form part of the FPMI’s considerations in the overall report on the fresh produce market, which it intends to publish by October 2024.

Following the workshops, the FPMI will conduct public hearings in October, for which it will share details in due course.

By understanding how the fresh produce value chain functions, the commission hopes to contribute towards safeguarding the ability of role-players across the value chain to compete and participate in the value chain and, ultimately, deliver the best prices to consumers.

The commission identified five fruits and six vegetables for which the value chain is being investigated. These are apples, citrus, bananas, pears and table grapes, as well as potatoes, onions, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes and spinach.

The commission launched the FPMI in response to concerns raised over an uncompetitive fresh produce value chain in the country, particularly exorbitant price spikes in many instances that are not attributable to inflation.

“We encourage any small or emerging farmer to participate in the workshops and share their experiences of operating in the fresh produce sector. This will assist the market inquiry in understanding farmers’ challenges and experiences in the value chain,” says FPMI chairperson Hardin Ratshisusu.

Any interested small or emerging farmer can contact the FPMI’s technical director Ruan Maré at RuanM@compcom.co.za, freshproduceinq@compcom.co.za or 012 010 5499 for more information.