The lettuce, the star product at Fruit Attraction 2017
The “Lettuce Attraction” conference, to be held in Madrid on 18th October, will bring together the leading companies in the lettuce and leaf vegetable sector
The lettuce will be given centre stage at this year’s Fruit Attraction. To celebrate, the world’s leading producers of leaf vegetables are preparing for the specialist conference: “Lettuce Attraction: the world of leaf vegetables”, that will be held at 4pm on 18th October in Hall 5 of Ifema (Fruit Forum). The event is organised by Proexport (Association of Fruit and Vegetable Producers-Exporters of the Murcia Region) and its members.
The event will gather together experts from the world of lettuce and leaf vegetables to discuss the latest trends and the challenges currently facing a product which is considered to be the queen of salad vegetables.
The conference will feature presentations by international speakers on themes aimed at producers, exporters, importers, retailers, researchers, seed companies, food processors, cooks and specialist journalists. It will also highlight the financial, gastronomical and nutritional importance to Spain of the lettuce and other leaf vegetables. Details about this event will soon be available on www.lettuceattraction.com.
Spain, the world’s number one exporter of lettuce
Exporting a total of 743,130 tons in 2016, Spain is the world’s leading lettuce exporter, reaching 53 countries with its products. Of the country’s overall lettuce exports, 60.4% (449,428 tons) were of the iceberg variety, while the remaining 39.6% (293,702 tons) were of other types (romaine, oak leaf, lollo, gem).
The majority of Spanish lettuce exports come from the Murcia region, whose production accounted for 71% of the overall figure in 2016 (527,423 tons). The next biggest exporting area is Almeria (142,894 tons), followed by Valencia (24,532 tons) and Alicante (14,528 tons). Together, these production areas make south-eastern Spain Europe’s capital of lettuce and leaf vegetables.
Germany is the main destination market for exports of Spanish lettuce, receiving volumes of 186,760 tons in 2016. This corresponds to 25.13% of the overall total. The second largest market for Spanish lettuce is France, with 137,454 tons (18.5%), followed by the UK with 118,693 tons (15.97%).
In terms of production volumes, Spain is the world’s fourth largest producer, with over 900,000 tons of lettuce.
