‘This is dire . . . people will go broke’: Fruit, vegie prices to soar as rents upped for Melbourne Market Authority wholesalers

Fruit and vegie wholesalers operating within the Victorian government owned Melbourne Market Authority are bracing for whopping rent rises, in what they warn will lead to fresh food price hikes.

Fruit and vegetable wholesalers are warning food prices will skyrocket.

Fruit and vegetable wholesalers are warning food prices will skyrocket after the state government-owned Melbourne Market Authority — which operates Victoria’s major produce trading centre — announced a more than 100 per cent rent hike on its tenants over the next decade.

In a scathing attack on the market’s authority, Fresh State CEO Jason Cooper — who represents the majority of wholesalers operating out of the Epping-based market — called for the entire board to resign.

Mr Cooper said wholesalers were bracing for a more than 100 per cent rent rise, which he dubbed a “grab for cash”.

“This is dire and is literally going to put people out of business. People will go broke over this,” he told the Herald Sun.

Victorians could feel fresh hip pocket pain, thanks to a Victorian government “cash grab”.

Traders who operate out of the Melbourne Market — which is Victoria’s wholesale fruit, vegetable and cut flower trading centre — are bracing for rent hikes of up to 7.6 per cent compounding year-on-year for 10 years.

Over the decade, it’s estimated this will be a doubling of their current costs.

Mr Cooper said tenants of an average wholesale store, of about 191 sqm, currently paid more than $100,000 per year.

With the new increase they would be stumping up a whopping $220,000 by the 10th year, he said.

“That means we’re paying $540 a square metre in Victoria. At the end of year 10, they’ll be paying $1100 a square metre. That’s more than what you’d be paying for office space in Collins St,” he said.

“The Melbourne Market Authority appears to have lost sight of why the wholesaler market was established back in 1878. It was never intended to be a profitmaking venture at the expense of wholesalers, yet that’s precisely the path the MMA is now taking.”

Mr Cooper warned the rent hike would drive businesses out of the market and lead to more pain at the checkout for already-struggling Victorian consumers.

Fruit and vegetable wholesalers could be driven out of the market.

Leading to Victorians’ fridges looking barer.

The costs, which would be passed onto growers and independent retailers, were also likely to push up fruit and vegetable prices for restaurants, childcare centres and aged care homes.

He warned that prices would likely start to jump from November when the rent increase kicked in.

“Wholesalers don’t want to pass on these costs but the truth is you can’t pass on that kind of increase and not expect some of it to end up to the total cost of a basket,” he said.

“It’s a cost of living crisis at the moment, that they’re creating, which doesn’t need to be.”

Prior to moving to Epping in 2015, the Melbourne Market was based in West Melbourne.

The Herald Sun understands the historic Queen Victoria Market will not be impacted by the price hikes.

A Victorian government spokesperson said the adjustment would “gradually bring Melbourne Market rents in line with market rates over a 10 year period”.

“The Melbourne Market plays an important role in Victoria’s local and national fresh produce supply chain, the rents have been held below market rates for stallholders for almost 10 years to support tenants through the move from Footscray to Epping and throughout the pandemic,” he said.

He said the rent increase would have no impact on prices in supermarkets.

The Melbourne Market Authority was contacted for comment.

Originally published as ‘This is dire . . . people will go broke’: Fruit, vegie prices to soar as rents upped for Melbourne Market Authority wholesalers