Spanish fresh produce association Fepex has published in-depth export and import figures for the country's fresh produce trade, covering the January-May period of 2016, with a notable year-on-year fall in export volumes but continued growth in imports.
For the five-month period, fresh produce exports dropped 3 per cent in volume to 5.7m tonnes, although value of exports climbed 5.7 per cent to €6.1bn, according to data gathered by Fepex from the Department of Customs and Excise.
The decline on export volumes was put down to lower volumes of fruit shipped, down 8.4 per cent on the same period of 2015 to 2.9m tonnes, with value up 7.7 per cent to €3.3bn.
By category, citrus experienced the biggest decline, followed by apples, pears and stonefruit. By contrast, strawberry exports jumped 15 per cent in volume to 294,345 tonnes, and 11.6 per cent in value to €548.8m.
The country's fresh fruit and vegetable imports, meanwhile, rose significantly in both volume and value for the January-May timeframe.
Import volumes came in 19 per cent higher at 1.3m tonnes, with value standing at €1.03bn, growth of 27 per cent.
Vegetable import volumes rose 12.6 per cent in volume and 36 per cent in value to 651,281 tonnes and €365.6m respectively, driven by growth in potatoes, onions and beans.
Fruit imports stood at 661,903 tonnes, up 25.6 per cent on last year, with value up 23 per cent to €665.4m – bananas, apples and kiwifruit being the most purchased fruits through the five-month period.
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