The Wholesale Center Market (CEDA) in Mexico City
Located in Iztapalapa, close to subways Aculco and Apatlaco is the largest market in all Latin America (and the largest wholesale center of the continent).
It is also the place where most of the food and supplies come from the largest city in the world and is mainly focused on bulk purchases and half wholesale (business), but you can also purchase products at a retail price. It extends over 327 hectares (50 times the size of downtown Mexico), and in it, is possible to find anything from fruits, vegetables, legumes, poultry, meat, and fish, to general grocery containers, and food for animals (either foliage or processed).
It manages so much monetary resources that only the stock market overcomes it as a trade center. As an example, its money flow reached 9 billion dollars within one year!
History and current administration
<The Wholesale Center Market (CEDA) was inaugurated on November 22, 1982. The architect in charge of its design was Abraham Zabludovsky, who built it on an hexagonal structure. Although in the past the CEDA had issues of occupancy and low demand for its premises, it has solved this problems and has operated since its opening in the form of a trust (contract by which several people transfer their assets to others so that they manage their investments). The CEDAâs trust and credit company is Banco Santander.
CEDAâs mission (an essential part of a company) is: To ensure enough supplies of food products, timely and in the best conditions of hygiene, to the inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico and parts of the Mexican Republic, through the modernization of its infrastructure and the regulation of the flow of products, for the benefit of producers, traders and consumers. The market has its own governing body headed by individuals, as well as by agents of the federal government and the City. Its president is the Chief of the Federal District who gives the âQuality Voteâ The general manager is approved by the government committee based on candidates nominated by the president. 
Photo: Christophe Morisset
About its figures and trade
The market could only be described as massive. Its trade is such that it alone distributes 30% of all the national agricultural production. The CEDA operates a food and product volume that exceeds 30,000 tons. Due to this, very often the price of the products are set based on the prices given by the CEDA.
The storage capacity of the CEDA exceeds 122 000 tons. The daily number of visitors can get to 500, 000 especially during special events or holidays. The jobs directly generated exceed the 70 thousand. CEDA is organized in cellars, with dimensions of approximately 5 meters wide by 20 meters long. The largest area is the one of fruits and vegetables with 1923 cellars, followed by the grocery are with 344 cellars. It has space for freezers, more than 3200 parking spaces, and its own area to transfer the trash. The space for trucks to stay overnight can accommodate over a thousand vehicles. 
Photo: Christophe Morisset
The Wholesale Center Market is also notable for being one of the few markets (because of its size) in which loaders or street vendors of food and beverages are organized.
The colors, the smells, but above all, the wide range of prices and products the market has, makes it unforgettable. Of course, we must take into consideration that both buyers and tenants are always on a rush, since time-is-money here. More information about the place, like a search for a cellar in particular, financial data, information on special events, or how to contact the administration, is posted on its website: http://ficeda.com/index.php
Article produced by the Editorial Team of "Explorando Mexico".
Copyright Explorando México, All rights reserved.
Photo: La Jornada
