Brand New Fresh Produce Market for Cape Town

The brand new Philippi Fresh Produce Market has officially opened its gates for business, promising to become the central distribution hub of fresh and agricultural produce for the Cape Metropole.

The R34 million facility on the corner of Stock Road and Market Street is aimed at facilitating a more cost-effective distribution of fresh produce, thereby boosting the emerging farming sector and acting as development catalyst for the Greater Philippi area.

A joint venture between the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape Department of Agriculture and MBB Consulting Engineers, the market will be operated by Isifingo.

Prospective wholesalers and retailers include existing traders, street vendors, and the informal sector supplying the townships.

With a floor space of 5 000 m², the market consists of sales halls for wholesalers and brokers, rooms for some 15 retailers and 40 downstream traders, central pack house, processing facilities, banana ripening centre, dairy outlet, flower retailing outlet, composting plant, seedling nursery, and transport system.

Its flagship, the banana ripening centre, with a throughput capacity of over 40000 cartons of bananas per month, is the first of its kind in Africa.

Plans are under way to link the market with other district markets in George, Port Elizabeth, East London, Mthatha and Port Shepstone in order to secure year-round supply of fresh produce such as bananas, potatoes, onions, fresh fruit, herbs, meat, flowers, dairy and other essential agricultural produce.

Its major impact will be on the emerging farming sector of the Western Cape. A supply base of rural and urban farmers on more than 5 000 hectares in the Cape Metropole and beyond is required to assist with food production to the market.

The market aims to have over 75% of its supply from the emerging farming sector and empowered commercial farms by 2012. By then the market is expected to have an annual turnover of more than R100 million.

This supply base could unlock further Government funding into the resource poor farming sector of the Western Cape at a tempo of more than R50 million per annum. This could help fund satellite depots located next to larger concentrations of new farmers from where farm produce will be transported to the market for sorting, processing and marketing.

The Philippi Fresh Produce Market has been designed according to international food safety standards and incorporates HACCP certified processing facilities. This enables it to provide on-site value adding to agricultural produce.

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Issued by:
Lisle Brown
Media Liaison Officer
Tel: 021 400 3065
Directorate: Communication and Marketing
City of Cape Town
Tel: 021 400 2201
Fax: 021 957 0023

Media queries:
Francois Van Niekerk
Project Manager
City of Cape Town
Tel: 021 400 5052

Thys De Wet
Mbb Consulting Engineers
Isifingo Operating Company
Tel: 021 887 1026