It had been shaping up as a bumper Christmas for fresh food wholesalers at the Sydney Markets before it was spoiled by the latest COVID-19 surge.
Key points:
- COVID takes the gloss off what was promising to be a great Christmas for wholesalers
- Rising case numbers are scaring people off dining out so demand is soft at the market
- Staff shortages and rising prices are also making it tough for business
The market is the largest in Australia and one of the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere, but with more than 5,700 new cases reported in Sydney on Thursday, demand for fresh produce has tapered off.
A lot of events have been cancelled and restaurants, bars and clubs have cut back as people stay home for Christmas.
Some have shut their doors because too many staff are having to stay home to isolate.
Good times gone bad
Bill Bolsamo, a salesman for Kazzi and Sons, said the run-up to Christmas had not been as good as he was expecting.
He said he believed people had become scared in recent days with the rising number of COVID cases in Sydney.
“A lot of restaurants have cancelled their orders so there’s a fair bit of produce left over.”
Costs are up
Chris Parisi runs a big operation that includes wholesale and retail outlets at Barangaroo and the Queen Victoria Building.
He said when the city came out of lockdown, demand increased about 30 per cent.
“You couldn’t book a restaurant anywhere and that lasted for about six or eight weeks, and now unfortunately things have reduced again due to the COVID situation.”
He said finding pickers, packers, drivers and clerical staff to run the business when it was stopping and starting due to the pandemic was also a big problem.
The shortage of staff was also driving up the cost of fruit and vegetables because farmers could not find workers either, he said.
“I’d say this year there’s probably been about a 15 per cent increase across the board to last year.”
He said he was glad that state borders were open and lockdowns were not being reintroduced.
“We need to have the place opened up and we need to have continuity.”
Long hours for some
Shaun McInerney, who runs Fresh Fellas wholesale business with his brother, said he had been working crazy hours.
He said he felt sorry for the wholesalers who supplied the food service industry.
“The guys who come here and buy their stuff to serve the restaurants, clubs, hotels and cruise ships — those guys really felt it.”
His business is protected because he has a couple of retail outlets as well and that consumers have been buying more to eat at home — he too will be staying home this Christmas.
“I live in paradise so there’s no need to travel.”
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