Terminal Market Case Study

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study Food Terminal or internationally known as Produce Markets/Terminal Markets are central sites, often in a metropolitan area, that serve as an assembly and trading place for agricultural commodities. Wholesale buyers will purchase products from farmers, brokers, or packing houses in large quantities, and resell it into the open marketplace. Prices of products, cooling considerations, and time of delivery are all negotiated before farmers bring their products to the docks (Alcorta, Dufour, and Hinman, 2012). Terminal markets around the world provide fresh fruits and vegetables to the geographic areas they serve. Without the terminal markets, prices will be more expensive. The terminal markets

Located in Bronx, New York, the terminal market is sitting on 113 acres of property comprising of 1 million square feet of interior space. They offer diverse selection of fruits and vegetables from around the globe. Their produce is delivered fresh daily via plane, boat, and tractor trailer from 49 states and 55 countries. Open five (5) days a week, 24 hours a day, Hunts Point Terminal Market provides the freshest produce to New York City’s bodegas, upscale restaurants, restaurant suppliers, and secondary wholesalers just to name a few (Hunts Point Produce Market, 2015). In the Philippines, the Department of Agriculture (DOA) have already operationalized 37 municipal food terminals and 399 barangay food terminals from year 2011 to 2014 (Department of Agriculture, 2015). Today, more food terminals are being proposed to be built not only for farmers to earn more, but also for international

It will be a major food outlet for fruits, vegetables, root crops, and meat products that are produced in GenSan as well as in the nearby provinces of South Cotabato, Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat, and North Cotabato. It is also envisioned to be a secondary wholesale market for barangay food terminal markets. Its major components are the: Wholesale Food Market, Food Processing Center, and the Abattoirs (Strengthening GenSan’s Food Trade, 2013). In Davao, a proposed Davao City Food Terminal is to be built. Fresh fruits comes into the terminal from all Mindanao farmers, as well as the local farmers here in Davao. The terminal will be the only wholesale fresh produce market in Davao City, located at Toril. This will cater both wholesalers and local farmers. The facility houses Fruit Section, Vegetable Section, Restaurant, Food Stall, and Atrium. Another important function of the terminal is providing the farmers a proper storage for their produce products to maintain the freshness of their goods, the likes of a Cold Storage space, wherein they can sort their fresh fruits and vegetables and place it in a safety and quality control inspections. The loading area is very important too, this is where they can safely load and unload their