Spain is the world's leading exporter of fruit and vegetables and one of the biggest producers, according to research from Spanish body Fepex.
During 2007, Spain sold a total of 9.5 million tonnes of fruit and vegetable products abroad, based on a value figure of €7.69 billion (£7.2bn).
The main destinations for Spanish exports were Germany (£2bn), France (£1.7bn), the UK (£1.1bn) and the Netherlands (£1bn).
The largest vegetable exports during this period consisted of tomatoes (891,130t), lettuce (518,185t), cucumbers (436,843t), peppers (368,751t) and cabbages (311,256t).
Fruits also fared well with citrus (3.78m tonnes), stonefruit (603,081t) and melons (378,915t) proving popular.
With regard to the accumulated figures corresponding to the period between January and September 2008, fruit and vegetable exports came to 6.6m tonnes, based on a value figure of £5.3bn.
These figures present an increase in value of four per cent and a decrease in volume of two per cent, compared to the same period last year. This decrease is due to the setbacks suffered by citrus, specifically oranges and tangerines.
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