The Situation

For more than a century, Möllevångstorget has been a part of everyday life in Malmö, shaped by migration, small-scale trade, and human encounters. It has been a place where food was never just food, but something shared, negotiated, and lived through.

Today, that legacy is under pressure.

Over the past decade, the market has slowly thinned out. What was once a dense and lively square is now marked by empty spaces between stalls. In 2017, there were 94 active vendors. Today, only 39 remain. The change did not happen overnight, but it has been steady and difficult to reverse.
For those who are still here, staying has become increasingly hard. Competition is uneven, margins are small, and the risks are carried almost entirely by the vendors themselves. Inspections and regulations are meant to ensure fair trade, but when controls interrupt the busiest trading hours, customers leave and trust is easily lost.

Beyond economics, there is also the question of care. Many vendors point to the lack of basic infrastructure, shelter from rain and cold, access to water and electricity, and long-term commitment to the market as a place worth maintaining.

Möllevångstorget is not disappearing because people stopped caring about food, culture, or local trade. It is fading because the conditions required to sustain a living market have slowly eroded.

What remains is a fragile legacy; still alive, but increasingly difficult to carry forward.

39 market stalls left.

Only 41% of sellers remain, since 2017                         [Source: Sydsvenskan]