Retail: There are as many as 100 farmers' markets taking place around the country every week, and this figure is likely to grow, says Claire Shoesmith.

If you had the choice of buying your fresh groceries from a farmers' market or a supermarket, it's not hard to imagine which would be your first choice. While the supermarket is great for getting everything you need under one roof, there is something special about buying your fresh produce from someone who has actually grown, reared, or made it themselves.

This may be the reason why so many so-called farmers' markets are springing up all over Ireland. Currently there are as many as 100 such markets taking place each week around the country, selling anything from organic fruit and vegetables and homemade breads and pies through to handmade jewellery.

"Markets are the future and they are just going to get bigger and bigger," says Sean McArdle, who runs five farmers' markets in the Dublin area each week which he estimates are attended by as many as 7,000 people. "They are becoming a serious new retail force and supermarkets and other shops just can't compete with the quality, choice or price."

Jenny Kirkup agrees. The 37-year-old mother of two buys all her fresh produce from the market at Leopardstown Race Course each Friday. "Why would I go to a supermarket when I can come here and speak to the people about the products they are selling," she says. "It gives you confidence in what you are buying and the personal touch is much more welcoming."

Kirkup doesn't seem to be alone. According to Tommy Relihan, of Relihan's Dry Cured Bacon, who has a weekly stall at the Leopardstown market, many customers come back each week especially to buy his bacon and, when he's not there, they complain.

"For them it's about having confidence in the quality of what they buy," he says. "It's about traceability. People want to know where their food has come from and I can tell them exactly because I have watched over it."

So what does this mean for the local shops? According to McArdle, it's only good news. "Markets are not a threat because they bring people into the area," he says. "They encourage people to come in and spend more money, maybe in a coffee shop or the pub, and in the long run actually benefit local shops rather than detracting attention away from them."

Ronan Reynolds, chairman of the Malahide Chamber of Commerce, agrees. "We've definitely seen an increase in visitors since we've had the market," he says. "It has brought a lot of people into the village who wouldn't normally come."

According to Reynolds, the people who come to such markets generally have a certain level of disposable income and may well pop into the local gift shops or clothes shops as well, just because they happen to be in the vicinity.

Weekend markets, such as those at Howth, Dún Laoghaire and Ranelagh, are particularly good for attracting new people to the area, as many people see a trip to a farmers' market as a day out.

Stallholders are generally charged between €50 and €60 a day, though discounts are available to those who sign up in advance or attend several markets a week. Each seller is also required to cover his or her own insurance costs, the price of which varies depending on the individual market.

Many of the market stalls also trade as shops in the city centre or elsewhere, something that David McEvoy believes is necessary to make a living. "The markets are great and demand is strong, but for traders it is also expensive," says the butcher who four years ago converted one of the barns at his farm in Termonfeckin, Co Louth, into a shop. "We found that many Dubliners were coming down to us for our produce so we decided to come up and bring it to them. But it involves a lot of travelling and is a long day."

Still, it's probably fair to assume that all the stalls are making money, otherwise why would they do it? Paddy Jack of Abbey cheese, Co Laois, has been selling his wares at markets for five years now and has seen a steady increase in sales - anywhere from 10-20 per cent each year. The cheese maker, who supplies fresh cheese to stores including Superquinn, has seen the revenue generated from his presence at farmers' markets overtake that of his wholesale business over the past few years. "All the growth was coming from the markets, so that's where we decided to concentrate," he says. "For us, the markets are the future."

However, competition is hotting up. As the idea of purchasing goods from a market becomes more popular, so the number of markets increases. But can you have too much of a good thing?

Letty Lejeune of Blazing Salads, which has stalls at several of the Dublin-area markets as well as a shop in the city centre, thinks that maybe you can.

She believes that while the markets are great for bringing fresh, and in her case organic, produce to a wide range of customers, it is also important that there aren't too many of the same stalls at each market. Last Friday at Leopardstown at least three of the 20-odd stalls were selling bread.

So while there's no doubt that farmers' markets have an important part to play in the future shopping habits of many consumers, the proliferation of such events needs to be controlled. Where supermarkets have become old hat, markets need to remain individual and independent, surely after all, that is their whole purpose.