Firstly, on behalf of our tenants, I would like to express my thanks to all customers and visitors of the market for your support through this very tough period. Throughout this time we have continued to supply the freshest produce to the West Midlands and beyond without the need to close our doors.

We have previously had to adopt a policy of not allowing private buyers on to the market until such time that we were able to have mitigation in place to accept those customers who were not legitimate food businesses, however, now that we have better control measures in place we believe that this can continue during the latest lockdown. One caution on this would be if we found there to be a major outbreak of ‘panic buying’ whereby we would always give precedence to those businesses over any private/public purchasers.

All customers and visitors must wear a face covering which covers their nose and mouth at all times whilst upon the estate. Any customer or visitor without face coverings will not be allowed into the estate and if found not be wearing such around the market, they will be asked to leave until such time that they are prepared to adhere to Government Guidelines.

Please note that the use of a face-covering should not be seen as a substitute for social distancing. Please continue to observe rules regarding appropriate distancing whilst on the market estate.

For further information please see our face-covering guidance by clicking the link below. Once again, we thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Sky news visited the market yesterday to broadcast live to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 on the Midlands region.

It was great to see Jas from Pedalling Pantry at the market today being filmed by BBC West Midlands for a piece which will show soon. Pedalling Pantry is a zero-waste sustainable green shop on two wheels that delivers fresh Fruit and Veg to customers across Birmingham City Centre. A lot of the produce is sourced from the Wholesale Market too which is great @bbcmtd @pedalling_pantry

#eatfreshinbrum

Despite concern over the Covid-19 pandemic, the market continues to operate as normal for BUSINESS USERS ONLY. The Market is not open to the General Public and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.  Birmingham Wholesale Market Company Ltd understands the high importance of keeping the fresh produce supply chain open to the West Midlands and wider public

We continue to monitor available guidance and working with our partners to ensure the market continues to operate safely, allowing businesses here to trade effectively.

We thank you for your continued custom at this difficult time.

The Director of Asian Business at the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce visited the Market this week. Anjum Khan was taken on a tour of the market and spoke to many traders about business in the second city and how the transition has gone from the old market too new.  The team from the chamber very impressed with the new market and look forward do doing more promotional work with the Wholesale Market.

One of our tenants at the Market, Mr Muhammad Loonat of Bidwalla (Fruit and vegetables) Ltd is a generous supporter of several charities and projects in the Birmingham area and we thought we should give a mention to his fantastic work.

Notably he has supported the AS-SUFFA Institute Outreach initiative for over 6 years which includes assisting the homeless in the city.

https://www.as-suffa.org/

He also supports the SIFA Fireside. SIFA Fireside works with homeless and vulnerably housed adults in Birmingham to provide immediate help and achieve lasting change. It is our vision that all homeless and vulnerably-housed people in Birmingham can access the services they need to achieve a more stable, healthier life.

https://www.sifafireside.co.uk

It’s always fantastic to hear stories of tenants helping these wonderful causes.

The Wholesale Market welcomed a regular visitor yesterday. Simon Edge is a co-director of The Real Junk Food Project CIC.

The Real Junk Food Project is a collaborative effort to bring about radical change in our food system. It’s a pretty simple idea with huge impact. Levels of global food waste are a disaster for our planet and the people that live on it. We save perfectly edible food that would otherwise not make it to your plate and make it available to all on a Pay As You Feel basis.

Everything we intercept is processed, quality controlled and distributed through our network of cafes, Sharehouses, Freegan Boxes, schools and community groups to #FeedBelliesNotBins.

The Market supports the Real Junk Food Project in anyway it can.

Simon is pictured with Rob Nixon, General Manager of the Birmingham Wholesale Market on Pauls Produce stand who had that morning donated produce which was destined for Birmingham’s City Hospital.