Generation of fruit and vegetable wastes in the farmers' market and its influencing factors: A case study from Hangzhou, China.

There remains little understanding of fruit and vegetable wastage and the influencing factors within retail. This study aimed to examine the processes contributing to vegetable and fruit wastage in traditional farmers' markets widely existing in China, Thailand, and South Korea, with the farmers' market in Hangzhou, China used as a case study. Questionnaires and follow-up surveys were conducted with the market stakeholders (market managers, retailers, and market cleaners) from April 2021 to January 2022. The results showed that the categories of discarded fruits and vegetables were related to their sales varieties, with leaf vegetables and bananas constituting the categories of vegetables and fruit with the most daily wastage. Wastage of fruits and vegetables mostly occurred in the morning. However, there was seasonal variation in fruit and vegetable wastage, with wastage in summer exceeding that in winter. The quantity of fruit and vegetable wastage was related to the size of the farmers' market. The volume of sales was also shown to be positively correlated to wastage. The analysis showed that the rank of factors influencing fruit and vegetable sales was: market service community size > appearance of fruits and vegetables > weather > market environment > fruit and vegetable price > fruit and vegetable origin. Finally, most stakeholders were motivated to reduce wastage, with their motivations including ethics, legal requirements, and economic reasons. The results of this study can act as an important reference for improving the management fruit and vegetable waste.