Spanish fresh fruit and vegetable exports to non-European countries dropped by 1 per cent year-on-year for the January-August period.

According to data from the Spanish Department of Customs and Excise, and processed by Fepex, export volumes hit 194,754 tonnes for the period, down from the 196,223 tonnes seen in 2012.

This represented only 2.5 per cent of the total fresh produce volume exported by the country between January and August.

For the first eight months of the year, Spanish exports to the US fell to 11,049 tonnes, exports to Japan stood at 19 tonnes, and exports to China just 2 tonnes.