Evaluation of the Profitability of Vegetable and Fruit Street Vendors in Mbombela Local Municipality in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa

Abstract

This paper evaluated the sustainability of fruits and vegetables street vendors in Mbombela Local Municipality using random and referral sampling method. The area was chosen because of its accessibility to the researchers and its potential to provide relevant and accurate information for the research project. Thus, a quantitative research method was used to collect data through face-to-face interviews. SPSS was employed as analytical tools. A higher percentage of females (66.7%) as against males (33.3%) were revealed from the analytical results. The household size of the majority (37%) had 2 persons per family among family households. The research discovered that some of the factors encouraging traders in the area ranged from making of enough profit and good quality of the wares. Furthermore, insufficient experience in business operations, non-adherence to municipal procedures for allocations of trading spaces and spots, theft, and lack of support from local municipality were identified as common challenges that might hamper trader’s sustainability.