La Nueva Viga Market

La Nueva Viga Market is the largest seafood market in Mexico and the second largest in the world after the Tsukiji fish market in Japan. It is located in Mexico City far inland from the coast, because of historical patterns of commerce in the country. The market handles 1,500 tons of seafood daily, representing about 60% of the total market. Most of the seafood is distributed to the Mexico City metropolitan area and the states surrounding it, but there is distribution to other states and abroad.

The major distribution of seafood products has been centered in Mexico City for many years, first at the La Viga Market in the borough of Iztacalco and now at the La Nueva Viga Market in Iztapalapa. The reason the main seafood market is in the capital, rather than in a coastal city, is that Mexico City has a long history of being the economic center of the country. Since pre Hispanic times, much of the seafood and other produce either ended up or passed through here. The people of the Mexico City area have also become accustomed to enjoying the bounty provided by almost all of the states, so the demand for seafood is greatest here.

The first La Viga Market was established near the La Viga Canal, which was named after a 19th-century ranch. In the 19th century, this area was filled with drying land, with artificial islands called “chinampas” and canals,including La Viga, which linked Chalco and Xochimilco, which still had their lakes, to the lake port of San Lázaro, near the historic center of Mexico City. The canal and others in the area were drained and filled in in the very early 20th century, with the La Viga Canal becoming the Calzada de La Viga road. Around this new road, industries and neighborhoods emerged. The old La Viga Market still exists and still sells mostly wholesale, but its customers are more local, such as retailers and restaurants in Mexico City.

La Nueva Viga was established in the mid 1990s because the demand for wholesale seafood outstripped the old traditional market’s ability to distribute. It has become one of the most important markets in Latin America, and the second largest seafood market in the world, after Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market . It and the Mercado del Mar in Zapopan, Jalisco control almost all of the seafood distribution in the country.

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