Latest news with #MelbourneMarket
ABC News
4 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Melbourne wholesale market rental dispute ends after angry protests
Months of protests and legal threats at Melbourne's wholesale market have ended in a fresh deal for stallholders. The Victorian government-run Melbourne Market Authority (MMA) in Epping said it had signed leases with all 17 stallholders involved in the dispute, ending eight months of bitter tensions. It comes after vendors were threatened with legal action if they did not sign a revised rent deal in April this year. The dispute began in October last year when the authority revealed rents for traders would rise between 6 and 7.6 per cent each year for 10 years. That sparked an angry protest from stallholders and concerns about fresh produce costs skyrocketing for consumers. MMA chair Peter Tuohey said all 17 tenants have agreed to new lease terms. "We're pleased to have reached a resolution that provides our tenants with clarity about their future at the market," he said. "We know it's been a challenging period, but this outcome provides stability and certainty and allows the market to focus on what it does best, getting the freshest fruit and vegetables out to Victorians." In April, the Valuer-General declared a compromised rate of yearly rent increases of between 2.4 per cent and 3.6 per cent for vendors. At the same time, the authority threatened to take the stallholders to court if they did not sign on. The vendors were still concerned they would be paying too much in rent. The MMA said the new agreement included further assistance for stallholders. The authority has reduced bond and electricity costs and waived rent back payments between August and February. "We've taken a practical approach throughout this process and worked to find a fair balance between ensuring the market remains financially sustainable and supporting our tenants," Mr Tuohey said. Lease renewals for an additional 100 stallholders at the market will be due in August.
The Guardian
27-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
‘Everyone's going to pay for this': could a Melbourne rent stoush push fruit and vegetable prices higher?
As Melburnians are rousing from sleep, Shane Priest is nearing the end of his morning at the city's major wholesale market. While the sprawling Melbourne Market in the city's north is closed to the public, the fruit and vegetables sold here are destined for the shelves of independent grocers and supermarkets, restaurants and cafes. Priest, a fourth-generation fruit grower and wholesaler, has leased a stall at the market in Epping for the past decade. He now finds himself in a legal standoff over his expired rental agreement at the market. Last week, the Victorian government-owned Melbourne Market Authority (MMA) launched legal action to evict wholesalers at Epping who refuse to sign up to new leases with yearly rent increases of up to 3.6% in addition to CPI. At the current rate of inflation, this equates to annual rent increases of up to 6%. Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Priest says he is unsure of his future as a trader at the market, where he has leased a stall for the past decade. 'We really don't know what we're going to do,' he says. 'If I sign up to what they want, in 10 years' time I don't know how I can afford to be here without maybe lifting my commission off the growers.' Priest, who also works as an apple farmer on his family-run orchard, says growers simply cannot afford the increases. 'Everything's gone up so much over the last few years, whether it be transport to power, to wages, to everything. We're already at our limits,' he says. The authority has given a dozen hold-out tenants until 9 May to agree to the new leases or vacate their stalls. Danny Martin, a senior analyst at market research company IBISWorld, says the rent increases could flow to consumers and result in higher produce prices. While fruit and vegetable prices have eased over the past two years since the pandemic-induced spike, Martin says higher rents could have an impact. 'These rent spikes could intensify pricing pressure on wholesalers in Victorian markets, reverting this easing trend. Wholesalers currently operate with slim margins that will likely cause any price hikes to be passed on,' he says. IBISWorld analysis found that fruit and vegetable wholesalers currently have an average profit margin of just over 3%, Martin says. 'Should these types of incidents become a pattern across Australia, overall industry rent prices will reflect as such and downstream consumers will likely see long-term price increases across the board.' The commencement of legal action followed a months-long dispute between the MMA and Fresh State, a representative group for wholesalers at the Epping market. Last September, the authority first proposed a fixed rent increase of 7.62% a year over a 10-year period for expired leases. The authority has now proposed rent increases of between 2.4% and 3.6% in addition to CPI over the next nine years, in what it describes as its final offer. Peter Tuohey, chair of the authority, said the rent increase would have 'little to no impact on the cost of fresh fruit and vegetables.' 'Wholesaler rent makes up only a small part of the consumer price. The main cost drivers are seasonal supply and demand, and the impact of weather changes on crops,' he said. Sign up to Afternoon Update: Election 2025 Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key election campaign stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Tuohey said the new lease agreements included additional cost reduction measures including reducing the security bond from six months to four months and eliminating annual bond 'top ups'. He said the latest offer delivered fairness for all parties. Jason Cooper, chief executive of Fresh State, says the rent increase means wholesalers will be forced to choose between slashing the growers' profit margins by increasing their commission, or passing costs on to retailers. 'At the end of the day, everyone's going to pay for this,' Cooper says. Priest sells about half of his orchard's apples at the Melbourne market as well as in wholesale markets in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. To sell more produce interstate would cost more in transport, he says. Fresh State confirmed alongside the 12 traders with expired leases, who have not signed up to the new rent terms, about 100 lease agreements will come up for renewal later this year. There are more than 400 traders at the market. The authority said it had waived the requirement for back-payment of increased rent between last August and February. Cooper, who has previously called for a rent freeze, criticised what he described as the 'heavy handed' approach by the market authority, which last week informed stall owners it would commence legal action in the state's supreme court. 'For a government landlord, you would just expect better,' he says. 'You'd expect it from a bad landlord. You shouldn't expect it from a government authority treating tenants so poorly.' A Victorian government spokesperson said the issue was a 'matter for the Melbourne Market Authority'. 'As legal proceedings are to be before the courts it would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this time,' the spokesperson said.
NDTV
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Sara Tendulkar's Melbourne Holiday Had It All, From Koala Spotting To Coffee Sipping
Sara Tendulkar has been having the time of her life under the Australian sun. The social media personality has been recently exploring Australia wherein she was seen going town hopping from Brisbane to Queensland and Melbrourne. The 27-year-old biomedical scientist shared a glimpses of her Australian vacation that saw her doing all things touristy like going to spot koalas in the zoo, watching kangaroos chilling in their natural habitat, capturing the seasonal vegetables available in the city including everything from gourds to peppers and zesty lemons, and sipping on a hot cuppa coffee as she watched the word go by behind the glass door of a coffee shop. If you are bitten by the travel bug watching Sara Tendulkar sipping on the perfect coffee roasts and watching Australian koalas perched atop trees; here are must have experiences as a tourist in Melbourne in sync with Sara's itinerary. Just like Sara did, don't forget to visit the Melbourne Zoo located within Royal Park in Parkville to watch the koalas lounging around. If spotting kangaroos is on top of your list while in Melbourne; there isn't a better place to spot them chilling in their habitat like Sara at Healesville Sanctuary and Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park. To treat your eyes, senses and appetite to a whole bunch of fresh vegetables ranging from hot peppers to pumpkins and beyond; you should head to the Melbourne Market, Fruita Frehs Queen Victoria Market and more. Sara Tendulkar's Queensland diaries are a photo frame worthy and how.
