FRESH PRODUCE MARKET INQUIRY: PROVISIONAL REPORT PUBLISHED

The Competition Commission’s fresh produce market inquiry has identified a raft of shortcomings in municipal fresh produce markets nationwide. As a result, provisional recommendations for improving these markets feature prominently in a recently published report, among other things targeting:

  • infrastructure maintenance
  • operating and governance
  • funding
  • access by small-scale farmers and those from historically disadvantaged communities (to some extent attributed to disparities in municipal by-laws), and
  • market agents and their practices.

Other factors found to be distorting competition by creating barriers to new market entrants include:

  • agrochemical industry practices (the document refers expressly to ‘exclusive clauses and territorial allocation’), and
  • ‘exploitative prices’ in the seeds industry.

Stakeholders have until 16 July 2024 to comment on the provisional report.

Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch

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