The 37 flower shops that took part in the 2nd Barcelona Opportunity Week (BCNOW!) sold nearly 650 bunches of flowers thanks to the promotional campaign held between 28 January and 6 February.
The “Grow up with Fish” campaign, promoted by the Fish and Seafood Wholesalers’ Association (GMP) with Mercabarna’s collaboration, has proven very popular with schools in its first months of operation.
“Barcelona Fresh”, the initiative that aims to boost fish sector competitiveness, promoted by the Economic Promotion Area at Barcelona City Council via 22@Barcelona with the support of Mercabarna, is making good progress.
Mercabarna and the Barcelona and Province Fruit and Vegetable Wholesalers Business Association (AGEM) have taken part for the first time, and in joint fashion, in Fruit Logistica, one of the world’s most important sector trade fairs, held in Berlin from 9 to 11 February.
The Gardening Association of Catalonia has asked the Mercabarna Training Area to offer a course on “Designing Ponds, Fountains and Cascades”, set to be taught on 17 and 24 March at the Mercabarna-flor facilities. This brand new course is targeted at gardeners who want to learn about the construction, types and maintenance of water gardens and the most suitable plants to use with them.
Further information on the course is available at:
www.mercabarna.cat/servicios/formacion or by phoning 93 556 34 56
Students undertaking occupational training courses at Mercabarna’s Training Area aspire to learn a trade that will help them find a job. This goal was achieved by 27% of the students in 2010, i.e., more than one in every four who enrolled. As Training Area manager Maite Palat pointed out, “This is a really heartening figure, particularly if you consider how hard it is to get into the job market today.”
Mercabarna is becoming increasingly better known to the public. To a large extent this is because the work it does and the events it has hosted in the market have been picked up on by the media more and more in recent years – a trend that was clearer than ever in 2010, when mentions in the press were up 54.5% on 2009.
Around 40 sector workers, mostly from Mercabarna firms, attended the third congress on the Stimulus Plan for the Foodservice Cluster of Catalonia held in Mercabarna on 9 February, which discussed the importance of logistics as a tool to gain a competitive edge in the foodservice sector.
The environmental awareness campaign Mercabarna ran from July 2010 to January 2011 helped remind market users of good practices with regard to separating the waste generated by their activity. The campaign was designed to provide information to users and to foster their ongoing collaboration as a basic requirement for upholding the high recycling levels attained at the market.
Messrs Jordi Hereu and Àngel Ros, mayors of Barcelona and Lleida respectively, met at Mercabarna on 3 February to sign an agreement that will see Mercabarna and the Lleida Agrofood Science and Technology Park (PCiTAL) join forces in order to boost and promote the management and development of the food sector.
