This was revealed recently by the association's public relations officer, Richard Scantlebury, during general meeting at St Mary's Primary School.

"This will be important to the vending and farming community. Sometimes vendors have to travel from St Lucy to Christ Church, and the rise in fuel is higher now than it was ten or 12 years ago. You have to travel further at a greater cost to get the same products.

"If we can get farmers to come to one location for vendors to purchase, it will eliminate costs. It will benefit the farmers because it would be a more structured programme and more vendors would have easier access," he said.

The wholesale market, Scantlebury said, would also allow BARVEN to purchase from different wholesalers, "to purchase larger quantities at a better price and offer better commodities at a cheaper rate to their customers and enlarge their market".

He also said the association was also looking to launch a co-op which would empower the vendors economically.

"This is the direction that everything is going in. We as small people don't fully understand all the rudiments of commerce.

Benefits of mergers

"You would notice the merger between Neal & Massy and Barbados Shipping and Trading . . . . It's about the benefits of coming together.

"Sometimes you will go to a plantation and they would sell carrots at $2 per pound, but they would tell you if you buy 400 pounds they would give it to you at $1.75 per pound.

"Some of us cannot afford 400 pounds. But if you can find four or five other people to source together you can get that $1.75 per pound. These are the kinds of things that we are looking at," he said.

He urged vendors to look towards long-term planning, noting "if we put our cents together, we can make dollars". (TM)