Initiative aims to help strengthen trade relations between Spanish suppliers and the Chinese and UAE markets
China and the UAE will be the guest importing countries at the 2026 edition of Fruit Attraction, which takes place from 6-8 October at Ifema Madrid.
The volume of Spanish and EU-grown fruit and vegetables exported to China is currently very low. In 2025, Spain shipped just 1,784 tonnes to the Asian country, equivalent to 0.01 per cent of its total exports. EU member states exported 10,084 tonnes of fresh fruit and vegetables to China last year.
China is a highly complex market when it comes to negotiating market access for EU fruit and vegetable produce, requiring the formalisation of protocols which can take four or five years to negotiate. However, in recent years Spain has made some progress and today it is able to export citrus, peaches, plums, grapes, persimmons, almonds and cherries to the Chinese market. Protocols have also been approved for dried figs and pistachios, but the necessary procedures to allow their export have not yet been finalised.
“The selection of China as a Fruit Attraction 2026 guest country – a country that has held this role in previous editions – will help to strengthen trade relations between operators on both sides,” the fair’s organisers, Ifema and Fepex, said.
The UAE was once a main non-European destination for Spanish fruit and vegetables, but there has been a sharp decline in shipments in recent years. In 2021, Spain sent 40,441 tonnes of produce, but last year shipments totalled just 13,621 tonnes.
Fepex said the decline is due to a number of factors, among them the rise in costs in general and logistics costs in particular. “In recent years, there has been an increase in sea freight rates, which have even doubled on some routes. Furthermore, geopolitical tensions are driving up the cost of transport and slowing it down, which results in a loss of competitiveness for distant destinations and, consequently, a reduction in volumes,” it noted.
“Nevertheless, the reputation of Spanish products in this country was, and remains, good. They are associated with quality and competitive prices, which means that the likelihood of reaching agreements with the country’s food companies is growing, both to cover domestic consumption and to supply the channels dedicated to the tourism industry, as the UAE, and specifically Dubai, have become one of the most visited destinations in the world in recent years.”
Dubai acts as a logistics and re-export hub for the entire Gulf region, Asia and Africa.
