A delegation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the organisation that checks the safety of food, veterinary and medical products, visited Mercabarna on 6 March. Accompanied by representatives from the Catalan Food Safety Agency, the Mercabarna-based heads of the Barcelona Public Health Agency and the food estate’s managers, the visitors were shown the different health activities and checks performed in the Central Markets and in other businesses at the estate.
The different institutions and organisations with a major role in the agrofood chain that form the Good Commercial Practices Code, including Mercabarna and the Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Dealers Association (AGEM), continue to work to define specific initiatives that will make it possible to improve sector operations and relations among the different agents in the chain.
Around 1,800 florists from across Spain took part in the 29th Mercademostraciones fair organised by Mercabarna-flor and held on 11 November. The fair is a singular opportunity in Spain for flower sector professionals (wholesalers, florists, floral art schools and more) to meet and hear about the latest trends and novelties in flower fashion and home and store decorations for the Christmas season.
The Catalan associations and organisations in the Confederation of Ornamental Horticulture of Catalonia (CHOC), which includes Mercabarna-flor and the Wholesale Business Association (AEM), have sent a joint letter to the Spanish Ministries of Finance, Economy and Agriculture expressing their concern about the rise in VAT applied to floral produce and live plants. The sales tax on these goods has catapulted from 8% to 21%.