On 14 May, the Mercabarna Slaughterhouse hosted a visit from the director of programming and the head of veterinary services for the Directorate-General of Stockbreeding at the Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture and Sea Fisheries.
On 21 April, some 15 members of the media attended a press conference organised by Mercabarna to explain its forecasts for rose sales for St George’s Day and new trends in floral arrangements.
At the press conference, Jordi William Carnes, chair of Mercabarna and Barcelona’s deputy mayor for Finance and Economic Promotion, and Jaume Mateu, chair of Mercabarna-flor’s Wholesale Business Association (AEM), announced that rose sales would remain stable despite the economic downturn. This positive forecast was based on the healthy sales leading up to the St George’s Day festivities and the announcement of good weather for 23 April. They also provided information on product origins and price trends and best-selling varieties for this special occasion.
Roses for Everyone
As has become customary for St George’s Day, people give a rose not only to their partners but also children, mothers, grandmothers, workmates, company employees and so on. For this reason, Mercabarna took a new approach and launched the slogan ‘Roses for Everyone!’, and presented different rose compositions with wrapping, details and accessories adapted and personalised in line with the recipient. There were several types: the classic rose, roses for children, for fans of the Barcelona and Espanyol football teams, and so on.
The press conference concluded with a visit to the Market, where the press took in the frenetic atmosphere of the days leading up to St George’s Day and compiled opinions by Market wholesalers.
On 5 May, a group of members of the Catalan Parliament visited the Central Fish Market.
Once again this year the Central Fish Market management has published the Market Statistics Book, a compilation of the main marketing data (tonnage, prices, origins, etc.) recorded in 2008. Aiming to offer analytical data in a way that differs from previous editions, this year new graphs have been added that trace the evolution of the tonnages and prices by day of the week from 2003 to 2008.
Since early 2008, a committee comprising 10 wholesale business owners representing the different sectors in the Central Fish Market has been working to define and carry out projects to adapt the Market to current marketing and consumer needs.
Mercabarna and the Association of Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Dealers of Barcelona and Province (AGEM) will participate jointly in the first Fruit Attraction trade fair scheduled to take place in Madrid from 4 to 6 November.
During this period of economic downturn, one of the issues that most concerns businesses is how to manage the payment of services and products and handle defaulters.
Mercabarna’s Training Area, as a centre that collaborates with the Catalan Job Service (SOC), will be offering new occupational training courses (intended largely for the unemployed) which focus on gaining the knowledge and skills required for working in the agrofood trade sector.
During the month of May, Mercabarna attended conferences and gave talks at different professional events and academic courses.
On 17 May over 2,000 people attended the huge fruit and vegetable celebration hosted by Mercabarna and the Association of Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Dealers of Barcelona and Province (AGEM) to mark the 10th anniversary of the ‘5-a-day’ campaign.
