Spanish horticultural exports dropped 1.3 per cent in volume terms during January, while imports into the country grew by 11.6 per cent.
According to Fepex, which reported data from the Directorate General of Customs, Spains fruit and vegetable exports came in at 1.2m tonnes through the opening month of 2014, although value increased 0.85 per cent to €1.1bn.
Spain's vegetable exports grew 8 per cent in volume and 9 per cent in value when compared with January 2013, up to 633,389 tonnes and €633m respectively.
By contrast, fruit exports dropped 10 per cent in volume to 602,285 tonnes and 8 per cent in value to €471m.
Fresh produce imports, meanwhile, climbed to 202,594 tonnes, with value also up 5.8 per cent to €133.9m.
Vegetable imports came in 7 per cent higher in volume at 114,694 tonnes, worth €55m, with fruit up 18 per cent in volume at 88,900 tonnes, at a value of €79m.
France was the leading exporter to Spain, Fepex noted, sending some 75,969 tonnes of produce – 37 per cent of the Spanish total.
