News summary: Spanish exports of fruits and nuts to increase in the Orient.

The phytosanitary protocol agreement announced last week by the Government of Spain will allow the export of 50,000 tons per year of national almonds to the People’s Republic of China.

The value of almond exports to China up to that date can be estimated at more than 600,000,000 euros.

  The Spanish Almond and Hazelnut Exporters Association (SAB-Almendrave) has shown its total satisfaction after the phytosanitary protocol agreement announced last week by the Spanish government, which will allow the export of Spanish almonds to China. Thanks to this historic agreement, the door is open to be able to send to the Asian giant up to 50,000 tons of almond kernels per year that could reach up to 90,000 tons in 2032, according to our estimates. The value of almond exports to China until that date can be estimated at more than 600,000,000 euros.

“This is the culmination of a work that began to be forged in 2018, when we started the procedures so that Spanish almonds could be exported to China. This type of agreements are of great complexity and require a lot of effort, dedication and time, so we can only congratulate ourselves and thank the government of Spain for giving the importance that our sector deserves in its last trip to China”, highlighted Pere Ferré, president of SAB-Almendrave.

After the signing of this agreement, China becomes an important alternative to the export of Spanish almonds, given the current state of maturity of the European market, the main recipient of exports from Spain. In fact, Europe was the destination for 86% of exports, with France, Germany and Italy as the main places. “The value of this agreement is twofold: first, we open the door to a market of 1,425 million potential consumers, with the possibilities that this implies. Secondly, this agreement gives sustainability to the productive growth that has been taking place in Spain, mainly due to the implementation of new irrigated farms, which have made that, in a matter of 10 years, the area dedicated to almond trees has grown by 32%, reaching the current 756,694 hectares”, Pere Ferré added.

This consolidates the real interest shown by the Chinese market and by commercial contacts with Spanish companies in recent years, based on the prestige of the quality of Spanish almond production. Moreover, from a logistic point of view, the export of Spanish produce to China will have a competitive advantage by taking advantage of the returns, given the large flow of containers exported from China to Spain.

Source: Infoagro.com