Fresh produce exports to the US fell in both volume and value terms during the January-October period
Spanish exports of fruit and vegetables to the US fell by 4 per cent in volume and 13 per cent in value in the first ten months of 2024.
This meant a total volume of 25,984 tonnes and a value of €74mm, according to the latest data updated by the Customs and Excise Department, processed by Fepex.
Garlic was the main category exported by Spain to the US in the January-October period, with 14,604 tonnes at a value of €55.4mn followed by onions, with 5,198 tonnes and €3.1mn.
Third place is occupied by lemons and limes, with 1,927 tonnes and €2.6mn, and then mandarins, at 1,301 tonnes and €1.4mn.
Fepex said that when comparing the ten-month period of 2024 to the last five years, the trend is downward.
In 2020, Spain exported 34,389 tonnes of fruit and vegetables, 24 per cent more than in 2024. Value was 9 per cent higher too, at €81mn.
”Spanish exports of fruit and vegetables to the USA remain very limited, ranking 20th in terms of destination markets,” Fepex outlined.
”This is due in part to the fact that it is a more distant market than the EU market, but above all, according to Fepex, to the phytosanitary barriers imposed by the American administration on the entry of Spanish and EU fruit and vegetables, in the form of protocols that must be negotiated between the administration and that of each EU Member State that wants to export to the USA.”
