Step into a world alive with bartering calls, the sharp tang of ginger mixing with the sweet aroma of ripening guavas and the colours of stacked produce. Mountains of okra, gourds and greens and pyramids of oranges. These spaces belong to everyone, their stories can be told by anyone, and they convey an implicit message of the importance of democratic, localised food systems.  

In this respect, they are vital neighbourhood resources that link primary producers in the rural heartlands to urban consumers. Many of the markets cannot be missed. For instance, they stretch along main thoroughfares for hundreds of metres and attract people from across a city or region, like the one on Chennai’s NSC Bose Road, near Madras High Court. Permanent features, with the stalls often employing entire families.  

Others can be tucked away down back lanes, probably only known to people in the immediate locale. And then there are carts and one-person pitches that appear on street corners or side streets at certain times of the day. Some people (often women) pitch up on the same spot each day with a limited selection of produce, perhaps supplementing household income.  

Regardless of their size or scale, India’s streetside fruit and vegetable markets are a vibrant and indispensable part of the urban landscape, representing economic vitality and cultural heritage. They cater to the daily needs of millions while supporting livelihoods for countless vendors. They are a cornerstone of the informal economy, which plays a critical role in India’s urban employment.  

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Sunday fruit & veg market in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu from the author’s publication Streetside Fresh: India’s Vibrant Fruit and Veg Markets

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The informal economy refers to economic activities that operate outside the formal regulatory framework, often characterised by small-scale, unregistered enterprises and self-employment. A 2018 study by the National Association of Street Vendors of India estimated that there are more than 10 million street vendors in India, contributing roughly 14 per cent to India’s urban GDP.  

Street vendors often operate with minimal capital and resources but play a crucial role in food security and nutrition. They offer a wide array of affordable and nutritious foods, such as leafy greens like spinach and amaranth, legumes like lentils and chickpeas and seasonal fruits like guavas and bananas. This affordability is crucial in a country where a significant portion of the population depends on such markets for their daily food needs. Streetside markets are often the primary source of fresh produce for low-income households, providing essential nutrients at affordable prices.  

Consider too that around 40 per cent of households do not have fridges for storing perishables. By offering fresh fruits and vegetables at lower prices than formal retail outlets, these markets ensure food security on a daily basis for urban populations while keeping costs manageable for families.  

Urban fruit and vegetable vendors source their produce through wholesale markets, local farmers, intermediaries and self-grown supplies. Farmers (some have come together to form co-operatives in particular regions) from nearby villages often rely on street vendors to sell their produce directly to consumers in cities. This direct connection, cutting out intermediaries, benefits both producers and consumers, creating an efficient system that sustains local agriculture and affordability. These markets also promote the use of fresh, unprocessed ingredients in cooking, preserving traditional diets that are often sidelined by modern processed foods.  

Moreover, they generate employment for vendors as well as those involved in ancillary activities such as transport, small-scale farming and logistics. For many marginalised communities and migrant workers, street vending provides a vital source of income, enabling them to support their families. And we must not forget that women play a crucial role in street vending, often leveraging indigenous knowledge to sell nutritious foods. This contributes not only to their economic empowerment but also to cultural inclusion within urban food systems.  

Culturally, streetside markets are deeply intertwined with India’s traditions and social fabric. They trace their origins to the age-old haats—weekly village markets that have evolved into dynamic urban spaces. Beyond commerce, they serve as hubs of social interaction where buyers and sellers engage in informal conversations. This sense of connection fosters trust and community spirit, making these spaces much more than mere transactional zones.  

The diversity of produce available in these markets reflects India’s culinary heritage. Vendors often showcase regional specialties or seasonal items like hara chana (green gram) or jamun (Indian blackberry), introducing urban consumers to ingredients rooted in local agricultural practices. Such markets also highlight the seasonality of Indian cuisine, encouraging people to eat fresh and locally grown produce. Mangoes dominate summer markets across India, while winter brings leafy greens like mustard (sarson) in the north. This seasonal rhythm fosters a cultural appreciation for nature’s cycles.  

India’s small-scale local enterprises (whether streetside markets or neighbourhood kirana stores) also serve as repositories of traditional food practices. In Tamil Nadu, for example, millet porridge vendors source grains from local farmers, preserving traditional crop varieties and reducing reliance on industrial rice.  

Streetside fruit and vegetable markets are far more than chaotic clusters of stalls—they are living embodiments of India’s socio-economic dynamics.  

Although the majority of people in India live in rural settings, the pace of urbanisation is accelerating. Several of the most populous states are now approaching an even 50-50 balance between their rural and urban populations. However, urbanisation isn’t a natural phenomenon; it is part of a deliberate policy agenda and has serious implications in terms of the food we eat, where it comes from, what is in it and who produces it.  

Small-scale farmers produce the majority of food in lower-income countries like India and are key to food security. Due to urban encroachment, however, smallholders are losing their land. Mega-cities (in 2025, the population of Delhi metropolitan area is already 32 million or so) increasingly rely on industrial-scale agriculture, highly processed (even synthetic) food and supermarket chains, crowding out local food chains.  

Cities like Delhi face significant losses in perishable produce due to inadequate cold storage and transport facilities, with up to 30–35 per cent of fruits and vegetables wasted during harvest, storage and distribution. This inefficiency impacts availability in sprawling urban areas. Such problems only intensify as produce becomes further removed (by distance) from consumers.  

As many perishables are tougher to supply to urban markets, there has been a shift towards growing more chemically cultivated monocultures. This affects the food available and the diversity of diets.  

That being said, smaller cities tend to maintain stronger rural-urban linkages, facilitating faster transport of fresh produce from farms to markets. This proximity reduces transit times and minimises spoilage, especially for perishables. Protecting and empowering streetside markets and smallholder farmers and advocating for policies that prioritise local over global, while de-prioritising urbanisation, are essential.  

This involves shifting focus from rapid city expansion to strengthening rural areas and smaller towns because, as cities have expanded, surrounding sustainable farms have been transformed into concrete real estate developments, commercial chemical-intensive agriculture and industrial parks.  

Streetside food markets (and the aforementioned under-threat kirana stores) represent a way of life that values diversity, sustainability and democratic access to food. In a world increasingly dominated by unhealthy processed foods, spiralling rates of food-related illnesses and corporate food giants that perpetuate a system which divorces people from food production and authentic food cultures, they remind us that true progress lies in nurturing local traditions and empowering communities to reclaim control over their food systems.  

In this respect, food sovereignty—the right of communities to define their own agricultural and food policies, emphasising sustainable production and consumption of healthy, culturally appropriate food—is key. Urban streetside markets represent decentralised food distribution and reduced dependence on industrialised supply chains. They foster local autonomy and resilience in food systems.  

However, as vital as streetside markets are, vendors frequently encounter legal hurdles due to inconsistent implementation of policies such as the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014. Harassment by authorities, lack of designated vending zones, competition from organised retail chains and inadequate infrastructure hinder their operations.  

In addition, issues like irregular pricing and climatic challenges can make life difficult for small-scale farmers and vendors. For instance, heatwaves can lead to increased spoilage of perishable items, affecting both sellers and buyers. Furthermore, market dynamics are often influenced by broader economic trends and urban-centric, corporate-devised policy narratives that serve to undermine the livelihoods of small-scale farmers and enterprises. These false narratives try to depict such ventures as residues of a (backward) bygone age. Far from it: they are essential components of prevailing urban food systems.  

Like kirana stores, fruit and vegetable markets are facing growing challenges from online quick commerce platforms. The rapid growth these platforms offering fast delivery and competitive pricing is reducing foot traffic and sales for these traditional markets, especially in large cities. However, the fresh produce market’s reliance on physical selection may provide some resilience.  

The open-access books in the links below provide deeper insights into the challenges facing local food systems, with two of the books providing substantial sections on India.  

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Renowned author Colin Todhunter specialises in development, food and agriculture. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG). He is the author of the following books:

Power Play: The Future of Food  

Sickening Profits: The Global Food System’s Poisoned Food and Toxic Wealth  

Food, Dispossession and Dependency. Resisting the New World Order

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