03 December 2008, 15:20 PM
  • The Farmers' Retail and Markets Association (FARMA) believes farmers' markets are still as popular as ever, despite the credit crunch.

This comes amid claims that for the first time these events are seeing a fall in turnover. Although farmers’ markets were growing by seven percent year-on-year prior to 2007, the latest Ethical Consumerism Report by the Co-operative Bank shows sales were down two percent last year with some observers believing the downturn is starting to take its toll on farmers’ markets.

However, FARMA believes that sales figures are impossible to obtain. “Any figures for farmers’ market turnover are an extrapolation as no one holds precise data, so the ‘decline’ shown is well within an acceptable margin of error,” says FARMA’s Rita Exner. “Farmers’ markets continue to have strong consumer support and are holding up well in the current economic downturn.”

She adds, “In fact, the year in question saw steady farmers’ markets growth. Our YouGov survey in June 2007 showed the biggest rise in unprompted awareness of farmers’ markets, up from 12% to 17% and consumer uptake of the concept holding firm at around 33% of households.”