North America Edition
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According to the latest updated data from the Department of Customs and Special Taxes processed by Fepex, in the first four months of 2021 Spain exported to France 828.8994 tons of fresh fruits and vegetables for a value of 989.6 million euro, i.e. 2% less volume and 1% more value than in the same period of 2020.
In the same period, Spain imported 371,946 tons (-4%) of French fruit and vegetable products for 112 million euro (-19%).
Spanish sales to France, the second market for the Spanish fruit and vegetable sector, have stabilized in volume at around 2.2 to 2.3 million tons a year in the last five years. However, Spanish fresh fruit and vegetable imports from France has grown in recent years, going from 798,248 tons in 2016 to 910,790 tons in 2020, and from 315 million euro in 2016 to 331 million euro in 2020.
Spain imported 706,085 tons of potatoes from France in 2020, which accounted for 77.5% of all the fresh fruits and vegetables that the country imported from France. Spanish exports to France are more diversified.
In 2020, the country exported a total of 1.4 million tons of fruits to France. The main fruits exported were orange, tangerine, watermelon, lemon, and melon, although there were also high volumes of stone fruit and strawberry. Spain exported 874,896 tons of vegetables to France, led by zucchini, lettuce, pepper, and tomato.
In the bilateral fruit and vegetable trade, the French sector has historically protected its fruit and vegetable market and promoted campaigns, such as the 'Origine France' campaign, to favor the consumption of national products, which in many cases are supported by the administration.
In the last Spanish-French-Italian strawberry contact group, on February 17, professionals from the three countries analyzed the 2020 campaign and highlighted the difficulties caused by COVID, especially the stoppage of consumption during confinements. The French sector, represented by the Association of Organizations of Strawberry Producers of France, stated that, due to the lack of consumption caused by the COVID pandemic, they had called on the population to consume the national product in week 12. The call gave positive results because there was almost no imported product in large stores as of March 24, 2020.
Source: fepex.es
