Fruit and vegetable exports from Spain’s largest production region, Andalusia, increased by 25 per cent during the first four months of 2011 compared with the same period a year before, primarily driven by strong vegetable sales.
According to figures released by the regional government of Andalusia and Spanish export promotional agency ICEX, Andalusian fresh produce exports reached more than 2m tonnes between January and April 2011, up from 1.7m tonnes a year before.
The value of these exports also rose by 9.7 per cent to over €2,500m from €2,200m during the first four months of 2010.
Many of the strongest performing products came from within the vegetable category, with tomato exports reaching 330,000 tonnes, worth €323m, which represented some 67 per cent of the total value of Spanish exports of the product.
However, it remains to be seen whether the solid results during the early part of the year provide any comfort for growers in the Spanish region who were among the hardest hit by the collapse of prices and demand during this year’s E.coli crisis.
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