Spain saw a slight rise in the value of its fresh produce exports to countries outside of Europe during January-November 2017, according to new data from the country's Customs and Excise department.
Total fruit and vegetable exports to non-European countries grew 1 per cent in value to €538m, making up 4.7 per cent of Spain's overall exports for the 11-month period.
In the Middle East and Asia, the UAE was the leading market for Spanish exports, taking on €56.1m of fresh produce at 54,937 tonnes - although this represented drops of 6 per cent of 4 per cent respectively.
Other leading importers in the region were Saudi Arabia, bringing in €52.2m (+17 per cent) or 51,171 tonnes (+22 per cent) of Spanish produce, and China with a big increase of €21.6m (+49 per cent) or 18,536 tonnes (+45 per cent).
In the Americas, Brazil topped the Spanish import charts, bringing in €88.6m of fresh produce, a big decrease of 15 per cent. Volumes also fell, down 6 per cent to 89,113 tonnes.
The US took on €58m of Spanish fruit and vegetables (+7 per cent), with a volume of 37,292 tonnes, 13 per cent more. followed by Canada, with 49,026 tonnes (+32 per cent) for a value of €57m (+17 per cent).
Morocco stood out as the leading African importer, with 74,541 tonnes (+17 per cent) and €56.4m (+24 per cent).
Spanish association Fepex described the ongoing diversification of exports into different markets 'a difficult and long-term challenge'.
