Three Almerian companies have been authorised to ship to this market in 2025/26
The first consignments of Spanish peppers of the 2025/26 season are heading to the US. During the campaign, which runs through to 30 April, three Almerian companies have been authorised to export to the North American market.
The three companies have had to invest considerable time and effort in keeping this sales channel open after the US administration unilaterally suspended Spanish pepper imports for three weeks in January of the 2024/25 season due to fears of contamination by Mediterranean fruit fly.
The three companies are members of Coexphal, the Association of Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organisations of the province of Almería. Coexphal’s manager, Luis Miguel Fernández, said the US is a very important market for Almería producers, as “it offers good prices for the sector, but above all, it opens a different marketing channel beyond Europe, given the impossibility of penetrating the Russian market due to its closure in 2014”.
Together with Alicante, Almeria is the only province authorised by US authorities to export to this country. In 2024, Spain exported a total of 1,166 tonnes of peppers worth €3.7mn to the US.
Total Spanish exports of fresh fruit and vegetables to the US stood at 32,468 tonnes in 2024, with a corresponding value of €93mn. This represents an increase of 20 per cent in volume and 10 per cent in value compared to the previous year.
