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Spaniards eat more fish and seafood than any other
Europeans, and Madrilenos more than the rest. The
origin of this is religious, explains Luis Blazquez
Torres, president of the city's giant wholesale
market Mercamadrid. For centuries, Roman Catholics
had to abstain from eating meat on Fridays, and
during periods of fasting, such as Lent, and so
they bought fish instead.
What started as a prohibition became a preference.
Today, sales of fish and seafood are higher than
ever. In 2003 Mercamadrid distributors sold to the
city's fishmongers and other large-scale clients
183,000 tons of fish and seafood, compared to 73,000
tons of meat and meat products.
Surprisingly for a land locked city, most of the
fish sold was fresh caught -- 123,000 tons. That
is because over the years public demand has made
an efficient delivery system a priority. During
the same period, Mercamadrid also sold 1,425,000
of agricultural produce, or more than any other
wholesale market in Europe.
The company, formed by the city government to feed
the rapidly growing metropolis , began operating
in 1982. Today, over 700 distributors are grouped
in the modern complex of large halls supplying fish,
meat, fruit and vegetables for consumption by greater
Madrid's population of 5.4 million citizens, representing
21.67 percent of the entire population of Spain.
The operation includes facilities for the processing,
handling and conservation of foods, and improvements
have been made in response to market needs. In 1996,
for example, a specialized section for bananas was
added. In 1990 a general cold store went into operation,
and in 1999 a new meat center was opened, responding
to new challenges presented by modern food distribution.
Work begins while the city still sleeps. A total
of 14,000 trailer trucks trundle in and out of Mercamadrid
every working day bringing the day's supplies from
the Spain's coast and its farmlands and from overseas.
Over 15,000 buyers use Mercamadrid, and by the time
Madrilenos are going to work the distributors' stalls
have already been stripped bare, the floor is being
hosed down, and the orders are being placed for
the following day.
Torres says Mercamadrid supplies 90 percent of
the fish and seafood bought in Madrid and more than
60 percent of the city's produce and meat. Fast
food has been making inroads into the Spaniards'
fresh food culture. "The younger generation
has lost the skill of cooking -- and the taste for
it," he says.
At the same time the quality of what he calls "natural
products" is higher and more consistent than
ever. A traditionalist when it comes to cuisine,
he expresses doubts about the new cuisine trend,
which he says can go to extremes. "An anchovy
and strawberry dish for appetizer is not for me,"
he says.
Still distributors at Mercamadrid sold Madrilenos
1.8 million tons of food last year for revenues
of 2,609, 740,324 euro ($3,287,000,000). In the
near future the company has plans to add milk products
and cut flowers to its products. And -- inevitably
-- a Virtual Market enabling buyers to view items
and make purchases on line. This will start with
agricultural produce, says Torres. It's a little
harder to judge the freshness of fish from a screen
close-up.
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