Germany: One year at the wholesale market in Sendling

As Peter Hein sits in his office in the Grossmarkthalle 2, he muses that things at the Bayerische Pilzbörse hardly seem to have changed in the past year. Crates of mushrooms and oyster mushrooms are filling up the sales area, the faces have remained the same and, just like a year ago, more than 20 employees from six nations are working here. So what happened this year at the wholesale market in Sendling?

"Unfortunately, not much has changed yet," says Peter Hein about the situation. "Of course, it was an important signal for us traders that the location here in the Munich district of Sendling will remain. However, too many questions that remain unanswered for us to plan ahead: When will there be a new wholesale market hall? What about the investors? Will the rents be affordable for us traders? "Many traders are demanding a new building for logistics and hygiene reasons. And regarding the noise issue, which affects the residents around the wholesale market, a solution must be found as well. "For us at the wholesale market, it is important that we can start work at 3 o'clock. Our customers always pick up their goods in the early morning hours. Everything must be ready then," explains the managing director.

On Hein’s computer, there is an e-mail. Re: New Regulations. "I have not read the message in detail, but it says that from 22.00 to 06.00 there should be no heavy traffic," the 53-year-old says. Such a regulation can hardly be reconciled with the processes at the Munich Wholesale Market, as they have progressed the last 100 years or so. The employees of the Bayerische Pilzbörse work in staggered shifts: the first shift starts at 2 o'clock in the morning, the second at 6 o'clock in the morning. Hein and his team sell 200 tons of goods every week. The Bayerische Pilzbörse sells mushrooms and sprouts. The mushrooms come from the most diverse countries: from selected suppliers in Poland, Hungary, France, Korea, Italy - regional products from Bavaria are present as well, as the Bayerische Pilzbörse has connections to Bayern Champignon in Pöttmes. The sprouts coming in from nearby Munich need to be delivered to the Pilzbörse at the wholesale market.

At the age of 20, Peter Hein's professional life began to revolve around mushrooms. Today he is Managing Director of the Bayerische Pilzbörse and has been on the wholesale market for over 30 years. "We live here. We eat here. We arrive in the morning and go home in the afternoon. That's our life. Here we are like a family," says the mushroom breeder about his everyday life. At the wholesale market, he especially likes the familiarity and the flair of the place. "The togetherness, a fast working pace and directness are what is special within these walls. Here we do not beat around the bush," says Hein.

For almost a year, the initiative "Großmarkt in Sendling. Jetzt." has been around, regularly portraying some of the traders in order to draw the attention of politicians and the general public to the importance of the wholesale market in Sendling, and in particular to the livelihoods, life and personalities of the people working there. Now it is the turn of the city of Munich: In the spring of this year, the tender for a new building is to take place. "I am very curious how the wholesale market will continue," says Peter Hein. Like many traders on the Munich wholesale market, the managing director lacks certainty to plan very far ahead: "I like to call the wholesale market a never ending story. But I really hope that the new wholesale market hall will be coming soon. Because here, we are all waiting for it to happen.”

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For more information:
Location initiative "Großmarkt in Sendling. Jetzt."
Schäftlarnstr.10
Postfach 75 09 0
81339 München,
Tel. 089/74 11 80 – 56
Fax 089/74 11 80 – 58
E-Mail: info@grossmarkt-sendling.de
Web: grossmarkt-sendling.de