50 years of Mercabarna, 50 years of changes

Authors

  • Joaquim Ros i Saqués Institut d'Estudis Catalans

Keywords:

supply, concentration, demand, change, products, origins.

Abstract

This paper looks at the evolution which has taken place over the last fifty years in three fields of key importance for the development of a central market: the supply (the number of operators), the demand (the typology of buyers), and products (their origin). In order to enhance the understanding of these aspects, they are presented in three tables which highlight exactly how the respective changes have occurred over time within the framework of the market, an important facility where buyers and sellers meet to deal in fresh food products. We consider that the concentration of the wholesale sector in this facility and the suitable adaptation of its operators to all profiles of buyers form an essential link in the circuit of our agri-food industry. Likewise, we explain the changes which have come about on the basis of the outstanding role played by consumers. Indeed, the daily purchase of fresh products by consumers determines what is and what is not sold, as well as where the products are and are not produced, because consumers’ preferences are the determining factor as to which products and origins are sold, and as to whether establishments for their sale are opened or closed. The implacable law of supply and demand applies in all its force to the relation between producers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers. Consumers penalise or reward the products depending on whether they are sold or not in the most suitable establishments. It may be noted that the figures presented here could be profitably assessed by sociologists, who would doubtless reach some very interesting conclusions on the basis of their study. Fifty years is a very suitable period for partly reviewing the history of the sector on the part of someone who has had the privilege of working in a place of capital importance and who wishes to present all the essential figures together with a set of conclusions expressed in very clear terms.

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Author Biography

Joaquim Ros i Saqués, Institut d'Estudis Catalans

Enginyer tècnic agrícola i MBA en Empreses Agroalimentàries. Més de trenta anys com a director de Mercats Majoristes Promoció i director d’explotació a la Unitat Alimentària de Mercabarna. Ha treballat com a director d’explotació de Migjorn, S. A., i en diverses empreses de serveis agraris. Membre de la Junta Permanent de la Institució Catalana d’Estudis Agraris (ICEA), assessor en temes de comerç agroalimentari en diverses institucions i articulista per blocs i diaris d’àmbit local.

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How to Cite

Ros i Saqués, J. (2022). 50 years of Mercabarna, 50 years of changes. TECA: Tecnologia I Ciència Dels Aliments, 21, 52–59. Retrieved from https://revistes.iec.cat/index.php/TECA/article/view/150220

Issue

Vol. 21 (2022)

Section

Articles

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