Mercabarna has reported pre-tax profits for 2017 of €6.975m, an increase of 11 per cent on the previous year. The Barcelona-based market sold 2.17m tonnes of food, including a record 1.87m tonnes of fruits and vegetables, 6 per cent more than in 2016.
The growth was driven mainly by the recovery in the domestic market, increased consumption of fresh food, a rise in demand from the hospitality and catering sector and export growth.
2017 saw increased activity in the Complementary Activities Zone (ZAC), which houses more than 100 companies that provide supplementary services to the central market. These include food processors, ripeners, packaging companies, foodservice suppliers and the purchasing centres of the large food distribution companies and specialist fruit chains which source their fresh produce at the market.
One-off items, such as consultancy fees and the collection of insurance indemnities, also contributed to the hike in profits.
The market, which will host the World Union of Wholesale Markets (WUWM) conference next month, is undergoing a wide-reaching investment programme that includes the construction of the first-ever pavilion in a Spanish wholesale market dedicated exclusively to the sale of organic products.
Work on the €5.5m Ecological Market is due to begin in the autumn of 2018 and be completed by 2019.
Mercabarna has also stepped up measures to combat food waste during the past year, announcing a €2.2m upgrade of its recycling system and plans to build a €850,000 Food Waste Centre.
Further investment has been made in upgrading and expanding training facilities, modernising the infrastructure at the central market, installing a new LED public lighting system and on the market’s ongoing digitisation programme.
In total, Mercabarna is planning to invest €16.7m in improvement during 2018.
Meanwhile, Mercabarna has released programme details for the WUWM conference which takes place on 17 April and brings together more than 150 wholesale and retail market directors from around the world.
The topics addressed at this year’s edition include: ‘Socially responsible and efficient markets’, and ‘New consumers, channels and alliances’.
The programme also includes a presentation of the results of a study by Kantar Worldpannel, commissioned by Mercabarna, on new consumer demands for fresh foods in Europe, the US and Asia, which identifies strategies to respond to changes in consumption habits.
Renowned chef and president of elBulliFoundation, Ferran Adria, will also speak about the essential role of fresh products as ingredients in the preparation of avant-garde haute cuisine.
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