Paris-based Rungis wholesale market has announced an increase in sales of 3.8 per cent to €8.8bn in 2013, with fruit and vegetables displaying the biggest rise, of 6 per cent.
It also highlighted the results of a recent study by Utopies that demonstrates the positive impact that Rungis has on the economy.
According to the study, the contribution of Rungis goes well beyond its Parisian site, with each euro made by the market having a multiplier effect.
Of the €7.5bn that is returned to the economy in the form of purchases, the majority (€5.9bn) is invested in the global food chain.
In addition, French food sectors are the first to benefit, the report stated, with €2.92bn being injected into the sector in a year, while the European food industry and third countries receive €2.26bn and €721m respectively.
Equally stressed in the report was Rungis's importance in terms of jobs, not just in France but also elsewhere in Europe.
For every job on the market, 7.5 full-time equivalent jobs are apparently created or maintained in the French economy, be that around 102,000 jobs in France, or one in 300 working people who are totally dependent on Rungis for their pay.
As for the rest of the EU, Rungis helps to support nearly 40,000 jobs in the food chain, the study revealed, including 13,000 in Spain, 4,700 in Poland, 3,800 in Italy and 3,200 in Germany.
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