Spanish fresh produce export association Proexport hasrevealed that its members’ combined sales fell by 12 per cent during the2008/09 campaign compared with the season before as a result of a drop in fruitand vegetable consumption.
The Murcia-based group, which counts export consortiumHortiberia among its numbers, said that the decrease in consumption as a resultof the economic downturn, combined with a cold winter in Spain, were theprincipal causes behind the “significant” reduction in sales.
In a statement, the organisation said that the amount offruit and vegetables sold by its associated companies between September 2008and August 2009 totalled 869,184 tonnes – equivalent to a 12 per cent fallcompared with the previous campaign.
Proexport said the drop in volume sales had been accompaniedby a similar fall in the value of export sales, by around 10 per cent to €682m,with the decrease especially pronounced in the final semester – between Marchand August – of the campaign.
The association said that during the season producers ofseveral major products, including peppers, watermelons and melons, reportedly saw prices lower than the cost of production.
Proexport said the Spanish domestic market has been theprincipal culprit for the fall in sales as a result of the economic downturn,with internal sales dropping by 21 per cent compared with the previous seasonto 312,672 tonnes.
By contrast, in the association’s main export markets, theUK, Germany, the Netherlands and France among other countries, sales onlydecreased by 5 per cent to 556, 512 tonnes.
Proexport president, Miguel Durán Granados (pictured), said the maincauses for the market difficulties were “weak consumption in European homes, aprice war in global markets, the fall in value of the UK pound, theshortage of finance for investment and poor planning in Spanish production,and competition from non-EU countries”.
To tackle the difficulties, Mr Durán called on the Spanishgovernment to take “urgent measures” and provide support to allow the sector tomaintain current levels of employment and respond to the economic challenges ina positive manner.
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