Spanish fruit and vegetable imports grew 1 per cent during the opening three months of the year, rising to 823,145 tonnes, according to new statistics from the General Directorate of Customs.
The data showed that the rise was largely down to increased imports from third countries, up 11 per cent to 358,407 tonnes, while fresh produce imports from the EU fell 5 per cent year-on-year to 467,738 tonnes.
Third country imports made up 43.5 per cent of the January-March total, rising from a share of 39.7 per cent in 2017.
In value terms, EU imports fell 20 per cent to €212.8m, while third country imports rose 12 per cent to €486.7m, the latter accounting for 69.5 per cent of the overall quarterly value.
The main non-EU suppliers were Morocco with 123,718 tonnes (+12 per cent) with a value of €253m (+11 per cent), followed by Costa Rica with 62,349 tonnes (+8 per cent) and €38.1m (+1 per cent).
In the EU, France was the main first-quarter supplier to the Spanish fruit and vegetable market with 288,673 tonnes (-2 per cent) at a value of €74.5m (-33 per cent).
Vegetables imports stood at 466,083 tonnes (+1.8 per cent) for a value of €234.2m (-18 per cent), while fruit imports came to 357,070 tonnes (+0.5 per cent) and €465.3m euros (+11 per cent).
'The statistics of the first quarter of the year reflect the displacement of the Spanish market to imports from third countries, confirming the Fepex diagnosis of greater foreign competition from countries with schedules and crops coinciding with Spanish production,' Fepex said, reflecting on the statistics.
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