Mercabarna
Mercabarna is a "food city" open 24 hours a day to guarantee access to food for everyone.
The Zona Franca industrial and logistics area is home to the city's wholesale markets (fruit and vegetables, fish and seafood and the Biomarket) and around 600 companies that specialise in the distribution, production, import and export of fresh and frozen products. A few kilometres away, in Sant Boi de Llobregat, is Mercabarna-flor, the wholesale market for flowers, plants and accessories.
In this regard, the companies in the Mercabarna complex serve as an important channel for local agricultural, fish and livestock products, and, at the same time, are the main suppliers of the municipal markets, neighbourhood shops, small and medium-sized supermarkets and the hospitality and restaurant and catering sector (HORECA).
As well as ensuring the smooth running of the food chain, Mercabarna’s business strategy is based on social responsibility, environmental sustainability and transparency criteria.
Mercabarna is a key driver for the city of Barcelona in terms of developing the commercial sector and for the role it plays in the city's social reality.
Una ciutat compromesa
The main strategic lines of the Mercabarna are:
The fight against food waste
Foodback, Mercabarna's food utilisation centre, is the main project in this area. It is a pioneering circular bioeconomy project that arises with the aim of increasing the volume of recovered fruits and vegetables and distributing them to social action entities.
Improving energy efficiency
Through the REPowerMercabarna-Energia project, Mercabarna will become the largest self-consumption rooftop photovoltaic plant in the Iberian Peninsula. This initiative will save approximately 6,000 tons of CO2 per year in the atmosphere.
The promotion of healthy eating habits
Mercabarna and the Wholesalers' Guilds on the premises organise children's educational campaigns to inculcate healthy eating habits and raise awareness about food waste. These are “5 al dia” and “Creix amb el peix”, which promote the consumption of fruits and vegetables and fish and seafood as part of a balanced diet.
