It has proved to be a strong first half of 2011 for Almería's citrus exporters, with shipments to overseas markets coming in at 16,700 tonnes, up 20 per cent from the 14,000 tonnes recorded last year.
The figures, revealed by the Ministry of Agriculture having been taken from the Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade, showed that the segment's turnover had climbed one per cent on 2010, growing to €10.5m.
According to the figures, Germany is the leading importer of Almería's citrus, making up over 40 per cent of total sales at a value of €4.1m, followed by Italy (18 per cent) and France (13.6 per cent) as well as the Netherlands, Algeria, Belgium, Portugal, Denmark, Hungary and the UK.
Almería is the tenth-largest citrus exporting province in Spain, with 0.8 per cent of the country's sales value – Valencia (50 per cent) and Castellon de la Plana (22 per cent) lead the way.
