South Australian Produce Market
The wholesale hub behind most of Adelaide's fruit and vegetables, moving more than 265,000 tonnes a year across a site around 10,000 people pass through each week.
About this market
The South Australian Produce Market opened at Pooraka in October 1988 and now moves more than 265,000 tonnes of fresh fruit and vegetables in a year, carrying a wholesale value of over $600 million. That makes it less a shopping destination than a piece of state food infrastructure, the point where produce grown across South Australia is graded, traded and dispatched.
The engine room behind Adelaide's greengrocers
Around 10,000 people access the Pooraka site each week: growers unloading, wholesalers on the trading floor, greengrocers and supermarket buyers filling orders, and cafe, restaurant and food service operators sourcing for the week ahead. Almost everything sold in an Adelaide fruit shop has passed through here first, which is why the market describes itself as a distribution and marketing hub rather than a retail venue.
Market at a glance
The Pooraka complex exists because Adelaide's old East End produce markets ran out of room. Rather than wait for a government solution, growers, wholesalers and retailers formed their own company in 1987 and built the replacement themselves, which is how the site ended up privately owned.
By the early 1980s the old East End produce trade had overflowed so far into the city that East Terrace, Rundle Street and Grenfell Street were being closed three mornings a week just to fit the retailers' vehicles.
Good to know before you go
For anyone who is not a trade buyer, the way into this site is the SA Farmers Market, which runs on the same Pooraka complex every Sunday from 6am to 1pm with $2 entry and free entry for children 16 and under. It is fully undercover, with more than 1,000 car parks at no extra cost. Drive in from Merchant Crescent, since the Burma Road gate takes foot traffic only.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much produce moves through the market?
- More than 265,000 tonnes of fresh fruit and vegetables a year, with a wholesale value of over $600 million.
- Can the general public shop here?
- The site is primarily a wholesale distribution hub for growers, wholesalers and retail buyers. The public-facing option on the same site is the SA Farmers Market, held every Sunday from 6am to 1pm with $2 entry.
- Where do you drive in?
- Public vehicle access to the on-site car park is from Merchant Crescent. The Burma Road gate is pedestrian access only, with no public vehicle entry there.