Fresh fruit and vegetable imports to Spain have continued to grow in the opening seven months of the year. That is according to new figures from the country's Customs and Taxes Department, processed by Fepex.
Fresh produce imports climbed 8 per cent in volume and 5 per cent in value in the January-July period, up to 2.1m tonnes and €1.977bn respectively.
The volume of imported vegetables grew 5 per cent year-on-year to 936,725 tonnes, while value fell 3 per cent to €523m.
The drop in value was mainly due to the decline in potatoes, which fell 17 per cent to €138m. Potato volumes actually grew 6 per cent to 539,624 tonnes.
In fruit, volumes jumped 9.6 per cent to 1.1m tonnes, and 8 per cent in value to €1.45bn.
According to Fepex, practically all fruits saw growth, including bananas with 208,091 tonnes (+12 per cent) and €113m (+8.5 per cent); avocados with 119,206 tonnes (+31 per cent) and €241m (+31 per cent); and apples at 119,723 tonnes (+13 per cent) and €105m (+13 per cent).
Watermelons, pineapples and kiwifruit also saw notable year-on-year increases, Fepex reported.
