Spanish fruit and vegetable export volumes dropped by 9 per cent during the first six months of 2010 compared with the same period a year before, although improved export prices boosted the value of shipments.
During the first half of the year, total Spanish fresh produce export volumes amounted to 4.8m tonnes, but while this was a year-on-year decrease, the value of sales rose by 3 per cent to over €4.7m, reflecting a 13 per cent increase in the average price of exports.
Total vegetable exports dropped by 8 per cent in volume terms to 2.2m tonnes, but again increased in value terms by 6.5 per cent to €2.3m.
The decrease in export volumes was most apparent in tomatoes, which dropped by 15 per cent between January and June to 483,992 tonnes, although the value of the exports remained at €539m – equal to the value recorded in the first half of 2009.
Fruit exports also showed an important decrease, with volumes falling by 9.5 per cent to 2.6m tonnes, while in value terms, shipments only rose by 1 per cent to €2.5m.
The most affected product was oranges, which dropped by 11 per cent in volume terms to 881,400 tonnes, according to the figures released by Spanish producer-exporter federation Fepex.
In a statement, Fepex said the fall in export volumes reflected a need to accelerate the process of innovation in the country’s fresh produce sector to improve the competitiveness of producers in order to better compete with other countries.
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