Protest erupts at Melbourne Wholesale Market over rent spike

Tensions between the operators of the market and fresh fruit, vegetable and flower traders have escalated following a proposal to double their rent.

Fruit and vegetable wholesalers staged a protest at Melbourne’s main fresh food market on Wednesday less than a week after learning of a proposal to double their rent over the next decade.

In an escalation of tensions between wholesale tenants of the Melbourne Market at Epping and its operators, the Melbourne Market Authority, a group of traders blocked off access to one of the market’s gates.

An MMA spokeswoman said about 20 people took part, but industry body representing market wholesalers, Fresh State, said as many as 300 joined the protest.

Fresh State chief executive Jason Cooper has called on the MMA board to justify its plan to raise rents by 100 per cent over 10 years.

“Since relocating to Epping in 2015, wholesalers have seen rents climb by 46.5 per cent, with average annual increases of 4.34 per cent. Tenants currently pay more than $100,000 per year for an average wholesale store of about 193 sqm,” Mr Cooper said.

“That means wholesalers are paying $540 per square metre in Victoria. At the end of year 10, they’ll be paying over $1,100 per square metre. That’s more than the cost to rent office space in Collins St.”

Wholesalers block an entry to the Melbourne Market on Wednesday in protest over plans to double their rent. Picture: Supplied

Avocado wholesaler and Fresh State president Shane Schnitzler said there were about 300 wholesalers and producers at the protest.

“We rallied as a fact-finding mission to be honest, there were things said last week that are not correct and it’s an opportunity to get back and tell the facts.”

Mr Schnitzler said rent increases have been ongoing in recent years.

“The MMA have taken every chance they could to get every red cent,” he said.

“We’re absolutely hamstrung … there was another market attempting to get up in Dandenong, and the state government put a knife through that. We’ve got no other options, we were sold a dream that’s becoming a nightmare.”

The MMA has operated the market at a loss for years, recording a loss of $8.64 million in 2022-23, following from a loss of $10.56 million in the previous 12 months.

This is despite an increase in rental income of more than 8 per cent in 2022-23 compared to the previous year.

The rise the MMA has proposed is less than the 8.16 per cent they went up by in 2022-23.

The increase in rent expected to be paid by wholesalers is between 6.72 per cent and 7.6 per cent compounding year on year, for 10 years.

Vegetable grower Vince Doria has grown vegetables near Cranbourne for 45 years and has been a tenant at Epping Market for nine.

“We’re getting nowhere, the rents are going up and they have been for the past 10 years,” Mr Doria said.

“What it does mean is that it’s another nail in the coffin for us, everything is going up, the price of vegetables hasn’t gone up yet. I know of three or four farms in my area that have closed, and we’re going to cut back to half, it’s not viable. We’ve been farming 45 years and this is the toughest we’ve seen it.”

MMM was contacted for comment.