Business slow for fresh produce sellers

By TRACEY PARR
SELLERS of fresh produce at a market in Port Moresby say they often face challenges of not having enough customers to buy their produce.
Vendors at Apo Street in Waigani spoke to The National about this difficulty which impacted their ability to make money.
Vendor Josephine Alo from Hela said fresh produce had a limited shelf life and if they could not sell them within a certain number of days, they would degrade and become unsellable which would be a loss for them.
“Because fresh produce spoils quickly, the demand for making fast sales is our priority.
“But we often get small number of customers which slows our business,” Alo said.
She said Apo market is located in an area where it is accessible ony to customers with private vehicles and not pedestrians as it is quite far to reach by foot.
Another vegetable seller Hoko Tui, 35, from Goroka said customer access was a challenge they encountered daily.
“Buying bulk is good but if we do not have enough customers, we lose money,” he said.
Meanwhile, a report by the National Research Institute’s Spotlight Volume 16, Issue Eight tiled The challenges faced by informal fresh produce vendors confirmed that customer demand was a major issue apart from water supply, a lack of market infrastructure and security.