The Central de Abasto (Groceries Center) is Mexico City's main wholesale market for produce and other foodstuffs. It was constructed to be the meeting point for producers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers for the entire country. The site accommodates more than 250,000 people each day and provides foodstuffs for most of the people of Mexico City area. The facility extends over and is the most important commercial center for the city. It is the largest such market in Latin America. It was established in the 1970s, over what were the remaining chinampa farming plots in the borough, effectively eliminating this tradition in this part of the city. The main building was inaugurated in 1982, built by Abraham Zabludovesky, as a slightly deformed hexagon measuring across. It was built to take over from the La Merced Market, which was no longer large enough to meet the city's needs for the wholesale distribution of produce and other foodstuffs.