Third country suppliers drive 1% rise in Spanish fresh produce imports

Customs data for the first quarter of the year show that Spain imported 1% more fresh produce (823,000 tons) than over the same period last year. Most of the rise is attributable to larger volumes arriving from third countries (+11%) to 358,000 tons. By contrast, imports of fresh fruits and vegetables from the EU were down 5% to 468,000 tons. Third country imports made up 43.5 per cent of the January-March total, rising from a share of 39.7 per cent in 2017. This data reflect the displacement of the Spanish market to imports from third countries due to greater foreign competition from countries with schedules and crops coinciding with Spanish production.

In terms of value, imports from the EU were down 20% to €213 million, while imports from third countries climbed 12% to €487 million. Spain’s largest EU supplier was France (€74.5 million tons / -33%), while its largest non-EU suppliers were Morocco (€253 million / +11%) and Costa Rica (€38.1 million / +1%). Fruit imports totalled 357,000 tons (+0.5%), worth €465.3 million (+11%). Overall vegetable imports weighed in at 466,000 tons (+1.8%) and were worth €234.2 million (-18%).