Fruit and vegetable commerce intensified between Portugal and Spain
Not only the Spanish exports of fruit and vegetables to Portugal, but also the imports had a growth tendency in the last ten years. Exports went from 489,820 tons in 2002 to 582,370 tons in 2011, some 19% more, while imports grew 170% in the last 10 years, adding up to 201,540 tons. The commercial balance is favourable to Spain, while the growth in Spanish imports of fruit and vegetables coming from Portugal was bigger than for exports, in the last ten years.
Portugal represented, in 2011, 9% of the total of Spanish imports of fruit and vegetables. It became the second supplier of fruit and vegetables to Spain, after France and in front of Italy and the Netherlands.
In 2011, according to the Department of Border Control and Special Taxes from the Tributary Agency, processed by FEPEX, the Spanish export of fruit and vegetables to Portugal was of 582,370 tons, some 10% more than in 2010, corresponding to 328,536 tons of vegetables and 253,834 tons of fruit. The main vegetables exported by Spain to Portugal are potato, tomato and onion, while the main fruits are melon, banana and orange.
At the same time, Spain imports fruit and vegetables from Portugal, adding up to 201,540 tons in 2011, of which 135,843 tons are vegetables and 65,697 tons are of fruits.
The faithful reflection of the intensifying of commercial relations between Spain and Portugal in the fruit and vegetable sector, was the presence in the international fair of fruits and vegetables - Fruit Attraction - with its fourth edition taking place from the 24 to the 26 of October in Madrid. In the 2011 edition, the number of professional visitors coming from Portugal had a strong growth, becoming the country with the biggest number of visitors, representing 20% of the total. As for exhibitors, it's growing since the 2010 edition, when Portuguese companies participated for the first time.
Source: Fepex