Spanish fruit and vegetable exports to Russia dropped by 14.5 per cent during the first 11 months of last year compared with the same period of 2008, while shipments to Switzerland increased by almost 30 per cent.
According to Spanish fresh produce federation Fepex, Russia was until last year the principal market outside the European Union for the country’s fruit and vegetable exports, followed by Switzerland and Norway.
However, figures from Eurostat for the period between January and November 2009, show that Spanish fresh produce exports to Russia fell by 14.5 per cent to 106,135 tonnes, of which 106,135 tonnes was accounted for by fruit, principally citrus shipments.
In value terms, Spanish fruit and vegetable exports to Russia dropped by 24.6 per cent to €68.7m, according to the data.
By contrast, Spanish fresh produce exports to Switzerland increased by 29 per cent to 135,294 tonnes, making the country Spain’s largest market for fresh fruit and vegetables outside the EU.
During the year, exports to Norway totalled 68,717 tonnes, while 35,884 tonnes of fruit and vegetables were shipped to the US.
According to Fepex, Spanish exports to non-EU Mediterranean markets, principally Morocco and Algeria, also suffered a fall during the 11 months.
