A protocol has been signed by Spain’s minister of agriculture, fisheries and food Luis Planas, and Chinese minister of the general administration of customs Sun Meijun
Fepex has applauded the signing of a new protocol opening the Chinese market to Spanish cherry exports.
The agreement was signed during an official visit to China by the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Spain’s minister of agriculture, fisheries and food Luis Planas, and China’s minister of the general administration of customs Sun Meijun, rubber-stamped the new cherry export protocol.
Fepex welcomed the agreement, noting that it would open the Chinese market at a time when the Spanish cherry was looking to diversify its export options.
Exporting fruit and vegetables from Spain to China required the negotiation of bilateral protocols, it said, setting out phytosanitary requirements.
The signing of the protocol would expedite the completion of these requirements, Fepex confirmed.
Currently, the Chinese market was open to Spanish exports of stonefruit (peaches, plums, nectarines), grapes, citrus, persimmons and almonds.
”For Fepex, the signing of the protocol for the export of Spanish cherries to China will open up new export possibilities for this fruit, whose cultivation has seen significant development, especially in Aragon, and whose main objective is to diversify its destinations,” the association stated.
Cherry exports from Spain in 2024 reached 39,968 tonnes, of which 33,440 tonnes went to the EU and 6,528 tonnes went outside the EU.
The UK was the largest non-EU market with 5,725 tonnes, followed by South Africa with 100 tonnes and Hong Kong with 103 tonnes.
The value of Spain’s total cherry shipments reached €139mn, of which €110mn went to the EU.
Spain’s overall fresh produce exports to China came to 3,871 tonnes last year, representing 0.03 per cent of Spain’s total exports of 12.3mn tonnes.
The value of fruit and vegetable exports to China was €6.8mn in 2024, according to data from the Department of Customs and Excise, processed by Fepex.
