Central de Abasto (CEDA)

Opened in November 1982 and designed by architect Abraham Zabludovsky, the Central de Abasto occupies 327 hectares in the Iztapalapa borough of Mexico City and is recognised as the world's largest wholesale market by area and volume. Around 30,000 tonnes of food — fruit, vegetables, flowers, groceries, meat and fish — change hands every day, generating nearly 70,000 direct jobs and supplying public markets, tianguis street markets and restaurants across the Valley of Mexico. It operates practically 24 hours a day.

CEDA is the price-setting hub for fresh produce and staple foods in central Mexico, organised in specialised sectors (flowers and vegetables at dawn, fruit and grocery zones). For Chinese exporters of food-processing machinery, cold-chain and storage equipment, packaging materials and dry-food ingredients, it is the benchmark place to observe how Mexico's wholesale food distribution works and to meet distributors. Trading is lorry-scale; visits should be scheduled in the early morning supply window.