Spain's fresh fruit and vegetable imports grew 20.4 per cent in volume and 29 per cent in value through the opening three months of 2016, according to information from the Department of Customs and Excises published by Fepex.
This growth meant that total import volume for fresh produce stood at 1m tonnes, at a value of €815.2m, well up on the previous year.
Vegetable imports grew 16.4 per cent in volume to 560,255 tonnes, and 38.6 per cent in value to €310.8m, with potatoes, green beans, onions, tomatoes and peppers leading the way.
Fruit imports, meanwhile, grew 25.2 per cent and 23.5 per cent in volume and value respectively, up to 496,894 tonnes and €504.4m.
Imports of most fruits increased, with the biggest growth seen in apples, avocados, bananas and watermelons.
Fepex noted the strong growth in volumes of fresh produce imports from Morocco, with a total of 136,400 tonnes – up 42.5 per cent on the same period of 2015.
