The Commissioner for Agriculture, Phil Hogan, and a business delegation of the community's agricultural food sector will visit China next May to facilitate the exchange and agreements between European and Chinese companies in this sector. Spanish fruit and vegetable exports to China, up until November 2017, stood at 21.6 million euro, i.e. 49% more than in the same period of 2016.
China is a major importer of food products in the world. According to FEPEX, it is a very complex market for fruits. It is the largest producer of fruit, as it accounts for 38% of world production, with more than 273 million tons in 2015, and it allocates most of it's productin to domestic consumption. Fruit production has increased over the past 20 years by more than 120% and continues to grow, according to data from ICEX. Even though there has been a steady growth in imports in recent years, very few countries have protocols that authorize the export of fruit to China, so foreign competition is limited. Spain has protocols for the export of citrus fruits (oranges, limes, tangerines, and grapefruit) and since 2016 for stone fruit (peaches, nectarines, flat peaches, and plums).
The exact schedule of the Commissioner's trip to China hasn't been defined yet, but he will be in Shanghai from May 14 to 17 and in Shenzen from May 17 to the 19. This is the second time that the Commissioner of Agriculture has visited China, as he was part of a community delegation that visited this country in May 2016. According to the European Commission, the goal of this trip is to give the accompanying European companies the opportunity to get to know potential partners in the local market as well as representatives of the agricultural food sector throughout the continent.
The program will include seminars on the characteristics of the local market and consumer trends, including e-commerce, distribution channels, retail visits, networking opportunities for B2B, and a visit to SIAL, Asia's largest food market innovation fair, which will be held in Shanghai from May 16 to 18.