The Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, inaugurated, yesterday afternoon at Five Ways, Belle Rive, Wooton, the National Wholesale Market (NWM), a project to the tune of some 450 million and which aims to modernise the sector and bring efficiency, market transparency and consumers satisfaction.
The Prime Minister Jugnauth highlighted that the NWM aims at providing adequate wholesale and auction facilities for agricultural produce while improving the financial livelihood of planters in the non-sugarcane sector and providing quality produce at an affordable price to consumers. He pointed out that it will also ensure more transparency, accountability, and traceability of the source of agricultural produce, and be a modern marketing infrastructure for the handling of fruits and vegetables.
The Prime Minister urged all planters to abide by protocols in force to ensure that they propose the best quality products to consumers. He indicated that several regulations had to be adopted to ensure the optimum use of the NWM, through which some 35% of local produce are expected to transit.
He also recalled Government’s aim of encouraging the population to consume what is produced locally as far as possible to decrease the country’s imports. He further dwelt on a series of schemes put in place by Government so as to better support planters, producers and those willing to join the agricultural sector.
Prime Minister Jugnauth emphasised the importance of bio-farming and appealed to all stakeholders of the agricultural sector to avail of all facilities put at their disposal. The NWM, he observed, fits in Government’s vision of a modern country that promotes food security for its population and responds to the needs of planters.
For his part, Minister Gobin underlined that the NWM will be operational as from today itself and provides a more hygienic space for planters to sell their products to wholesalers and customers in an effective and efficient way. He pointed that the NWM will be a game changer in the sector.
Moreover, he indicated that phase two of the project, based on the French model, will soon be implemented so as to modernise the NWM even more.
The NWM, constructed on a plot of land of 30 arpents and spanning over 5,400 square metres, comprises a planter’s market, a wholesale market, an extension auction, and adequate parking slots. It will operate five days per week except on Wednesdays and Sundays.
The project includes the transfer of all three existing auction markets (Port Louis, Flacq and Vacoas) in a single place equipped with modern installations and the possibility for producers to sell directly to retailers.
The NWM will improve all aspects of marketing of fruits and vegetables by promoting traceability, food safety, normalisation of products and standardisation. It will sustain an estimated annual production of 115,000 tons of food crops which are produced by some 12,800 planters. It is also expected, in the long run, to lead to price stabilisation, greater predictability in the marketing system and offer competitive prices to the consumer.
The operating hours of the NWM are as follows:
Hours – Operations
- 05.00 – 07.00: Delivery of Articles (particularly for fine herbs and spices)
- 07.00 – 13.00: Sale of vegetables and fruits
- 13.00 – 16.30: Delivery of Articles
