Pushpa Wati has been a market vendor for 40 years, selling fresh produce to support her family.
She lives in Wainibuku with her husband, and together, they rely on selling fruits and vegetables as their primary source of income at the Makoui Market.
Pushpa said in addition to selling produce harvested from their small farm, they often bought veges from a neighbouring Chinese farmer to supplement their supplies.
Her daughter sometimes assisted by helping out in the market on certain days.
“If I’m not well, my daughter steps in to help us with the market business and I’m grateful for that,” she said.
Pushpa said she usually works long hours, starting early in the mornings and returning home around 9pm daily. Despite her dedication, she faces significant challenges just like every other vendor based there.
“As we all know, every business has their share of challenges and the same goes for us vendors based here,” she said.
One of her major concerns is the rising cost of produce, which she said has dramatically affected her profits.
“The prices of veges has increased while the quantity and quality often do not meet expectations.”
“A bag of tomatoes now costs up to $150, and a bag of eggplants can cost around $100 or more.”
“This price increases have reduced my income, as the high costs now leave little room for profit, making it harder for us to save any money.”
Pushpa also expressed frustration on the unreliable supplies from some farmers, that added to her struggle to maintain a steady stock of quality and affordable fresh produce.
“Most of the time we pay more money for produce and only get small quantities making it harder to make a profit.”
Hardworking Pushpa said these issues made it harder for her to run her business as effectively as she used to. Another challenge was the location of the Makoi Market itself as it was isolated, with minimal foot traffic.
“This market is all the way back here behind Hanson’s Supermarket, so in a day, we are lucky if customers turn up in numbers to buy from us,” she said.
Pushpa shared that the market’s inconvenient location discouraged customers from visiting the Makoi Market and this affected vendors’ ability to make consistent sales and profit.
She said they had to compete with Hanson’s Supermarket which also sold fresh produce in-store. Pushpa said this was ideal for most customers and it further reduced their need to visit their market base.
Vendors also had to compete with ad-hoc-sellers who just turned up, opened their car boots and sold fresh veges and crops some days.
Despite her years of experience, the external challenges often made it increasingly difficult for her and other vendors to sustain their businesses and earn a stable income.
She said in order to stay functional, the vendors needed to have patience to cope with the challenges around them, and hope their situation would change some time soon.
But these challenges never deterred the vendors from smiling and serving the members of the community that relied on their business for fresh food supplies daily.