The Worshipful Company of Fruiterers made its first official visit to the new Western International Market this week.
To mark the event, Master Alan French toured the market and talked to traders, before rewarding the two best displays - one large and one small - with magnums of champagne.
The 21-strong visit saw the Fruiterers split into three groups to walk the three market halls, where they saw a number of full-scale displays with a wide range of fruit and vegetables, from home-grown to exotic produce.
The market’s recycling plant featured as a stop-off on the tour, where the visitors learnt that the centre has reduced the waste sent to landfill to 20 per cent.
Master Alan French told freshinfo: “We have to keep in touch with what the fresh produce industry is doing because more than half of our members are involved.”
On the tour, he asked traders about how they have settled into the one-year-old site and about the future of the wholesale trade.
French singled out Maroc Veg as the best large stand for its “huge range of high-quality products on display and 3D effect of the display that goes right back into the stand”. He chose Fruits of Lebanon as the top small stand because of its “outstanding quality and wide range of fruit and vegetables, displayed in the traditional manner”.
Traders Hassan Chentouf from Maroc Veg and Nadim Traboulsi from Fruits of Lebanon came to the Fruiterers’ breakfast to receive their champagne.
Vitacress, Western Banana Centre, Fruity Fruits and WT Hill & Sons (Western) Ltd were among the other companies singled out for praise for their displays.
Gill White, chairman of the tenants’ association, told the visitors that the move to the new market has been positive, but admitted that there are still some issues to be ironed out, including the size of the overhead canopy and the tight space.
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