Green crates used to carry fresh fruit and vegetables at the Pitkalija market now feature a barcode that links to information about the product, its price and the farmer responsible.

The barcode ticket is part of a new method to improve traceability and transparency at the Pitkalija market and has been introduced as part of a reform of the wholesale fruit and vegetable market. 

It was announced on Wednesday during the launch of the new Malta Food Agency by the Agriculture Ministry.

The new agency will regulate the sales and marketing of all local food produce from farming and fisheries, and administer the Pitkalija and Pixkerija and abattoir. 

All farmers, middlemen and hawkers will be registered on agency-run system and given ID cards that list their role in the market. Similar identification will also be provided for their registered vehicles. 

"The concept of the new agency and the Pitkalija reform is to have a centralised system that will allow for more transparency and traceability of the sale of local fresh produce and give a level-playing field for everyone involved in the market," said Agency chief policy officer Sonya Sammut. 

The reform is part of the government's efforts to resolve long-festering problems at the Pitkali market. Back in April, Times of Malta reported how all of Malta’s registered pitkala middlemen had their licences suspended after they refused to put a guarantee in place to stop farmers from being left in the lurch.

The Pitkali market opens twice a week and sees hundreds of farmers drop off thousands of kilos of fresh fruit and vegetables that are then traditionally auctioned off to supermarkets, grocers and hawkers.

It is not open to the public and is distinct from the nearby farmers’ market that operates in Ta’ Qali. 

New barcodes added to the green crates at the Pitkalija market for extra tracebility Photo: Screengrab from Facebook

Sammut said that the Agency will focus on addressing ways to strengthen the market and provide new opportunities for enterprises in the farming and fisheries sector. 

Through the new barcode system, the agency will be able to register and record all the farmers produce in real-time and register all the sales made in the day. 

That, said Sammut,  would allow the market to become more efficient, modern and also provide a better negotiation position for farmers.

"Through the new system, we will also look into 'market failures', taking into account how we can improve the low volume of production and facilitate on improving the market."

Speaking at the press conference, Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Minister Anton Refalo emphasised the importance of the introduction of the Malta Food Agency. 

"This sector has been hit hard by the pandemic, but has also been resilient- and we believe that the agency and reform will benefit our farmers especially, who have every right to know how much of their produce they sold and for how much," he said.

Refalo said that the launch is just the beginning, and that he hopes in the future the agency will look into ways of exporting extra produce, so as to reduce food waste. 

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