The second round of negotiations between the European Commission and the United Kingdom for the UK's departure from the EU is taking place this week and Spain's fruit and vegetable sector, grouped in FEPEX, is closely following these talks, as exports in the first quarter of the year totaled 763 million euro and 591 million tons, i.e. 5% more in value and 3% less in volume than in the same period of 2016.
The decline in the volume exported to the United Kingdom in the first four months has been widespread in the different EU markets and it was mainly due to the adverse weather conditions of the first months of the year, which led to a significant reduction in the production of certain crops. However, in the period analyzed, the United Kingdom remained the third market for the Spanish sector, behind Germany, with 1.1 million tons exported (-3%) and France with 775,348 tons (- 6%).
FEPEX is particularly concerned with the model of the trade agreement that will determine the conditions of access of fresh fruit and vegetables to the British market, given the diversity of options that are being proposed, from the implementation of agreements of the World Trade Organization, to the establishment of an agreement that establishes a zone of free trade, without tariff rights.
In 2016, the Spanish export of fresh fruits and vegetables to the United Kingdom totaled 1,762 million euro and 1.5 million tons, i.e. 6% growth in volume and 9% in value over 2015. The United Kingdom is the third destination for Spanish shipments of fresh fruits and vegetables, after Germany and France, and it has had a positive evolution in recent years. In 2016, the share of the United Kingdom among Spanish exporting countries has also increased, from 13.5% of the total in 2015 to 14.1% in 2016, according to data from the Customs Directorate, processed by FEPEX.