Christmas is always an extremely busy time and Mercat de l’Olivar is packed with shoppers from 9 o’clock in the morning as families stock up for Christmas.
According to butchers and fishmongers “sales are encouraging with most people saying that they’ll be celebrating at home with family.”
“Now people are starting to buy what they need and food they can freeze is really popular, such as sea bream (45 euros/kilo), Mallorcan squid and wild sea bream (32.90 euros/kilo), sea bass (38 euros/kilo) and Galician lobster (59 euros/kilo),” says Marina Farragut at Pescados Mir Vira.
Rising prices
Some prices are likely to rise as Christmas approaches, especially fresh Mallorcan prawns, because catches are not very big at the moment.
At Pescados Carmen crayfish cost 98 euros a kilo and fresh fresh Mallorcan prawns are 59 euros a kilo.
The star at most traditional Christmas tables in Mallorca is the piglet and stallholder Miguel Sastre says demand is high.
“It’s always the most popular choice and many people are already buying it to freeze, so sales have been very encouraging this week,” he says. “At the moment a whole Mallorca piglet weighing 3-5 kilos costs 95 euros.”
"Piglets and country chickens are more expensive this year with the chickens costing 6.90 euros a kilo and Mallorcan turkey which is also really popular usually goes on sale in Christmas week."