A LOCAL produce supplier said while a new farmers market was a good idea, Townsville didn't have the strong trading base to support it.
Maria Pozzebon is the director at Farm Fresh Direct which sells local and southern produce to Townsville and surrounding towns year-round.
She said the North Queensland Farmers Market which was scheduled to open in Northern Beaches in April would not have a big enough support base.
She said there would be too much competition for suppliers and seasonal pressure on goods.
"The concept yeah, maybe but it will never be a centralised market," she said.
"They're talking about the farmers market including every grower in the local area, but we don't have the population, don't have the base."
North Queensland Farmers Market operator Shane Stanley said Ms Pozzebon had valid points which had been taken into consideration.
"It's correct things are seasonal, and that's one thing we want to educate people about what is available seasonally and locally; show people what is in season and what they should be eating," he said.
He said there would be about 50 producers selling at one time, regulated by strict guidelines to get the best varieties and avoid stoppages in the trading stream.
"The produce has to come off the farm it can't just be from the wholesaler," he said.
"And gluts do happen, but we don't let everyone in it comes down to the quality of the fruit."
He said, however, there was one fruit at the farmers market he runs in Noosa which sold out of its 12 varieties each week.
There is also a strong and wide enough foundation to keep the markets alive, he said.
"The project really looked at Townsville and surrounding regions the produce will be coming from most come from within a few hours of Townsville," Mr Stanley said.
The Townsville market has been on the cards for several years and is backed by support from thousands of residents, hundreds of producers, and local council and enterprise.
It's never been done here before, but organisers are confident it will work.
Fruit shops are wary, Mr Stanley said, but he reshifted the argument to say the market would add to, rather than compete with industry.
"We don't want to take business away. If anything, we want to include (bigger all-season suppliers) to find more local product with them."
He said it added another dimension to the industry. Promoting local business and a different farming industry to traditional broadacre farming is a big aim of the project.
"It looks at bringing in new crops and how to develop industry further it's always had that focus," Mr Stanley said.
Ms Pozzebon supported bringing more attention to local produce, and said much more incentive was needed to lead a healthy lifestyle.
She said eating healthy was expensive and people were tempted by cheaper, unhealthier options, suggesting a government tax benefit to boost incentive.
For now, the North Queensland harvest has mostly dried up, and Farm Fresh Direct is down to sourcing pumpkins from the Tableland and local bananas and lychees.
It's stocking the rest of its market with southern supplies before the local Bowen season kicks off again about June.
Ms Pozzebon said prices had been lower this year, with major impacts from floods and cyclones, but now prices were generally reasonable.
She said they keep their steady client base by trying to buy the best at the best price.
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