Abstract：
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.
摘要：
对果蔬浪费及其影响因素的认识还不多。本研究旨在研究在中国广泛存在的传统农贸市场中导致蔬菜和水果浪费的过程。泰国,还有韩国,在杭州的农贸市场，中国用作案例研究。与市场利益相关者(市场经理，零售商,和市场清洁工）从2021年4月到2022年1月。结果表明,废弃果蔬的种类与其销售品种有关,叶类蔬菜和香蕉构成了日常浪费最多的蔬菜和水果类别。水果和蔬菜的浪费大多发生在早晨。然而,水果和蔬菜浪费有季节性变化，夏天的浪费超过冬天的浪费。水果和蔬菜的浪费量与农贸市场的规模有关。销售额也显示与浪费呈正相关。分析表明，影响果蔬销售的因素排序为：市场服务社区规模>果蔬外观>天气>市场环境>果蔬价格>果蔬产地。最后,大多数利益相关者都有减少浪费的动力，他们的动机包括道德，法律要求,和经济原因。本研究结果可为改善果蔬废弃物管理提供重要参考。
