Between September 2013 and August 2014, Almeria's horticultural companies exported 2.3 million tonnes of fruit and vegetables, 7.3% more than last season. The sector's revenue totalled 2,000 million Euro.
Fresh vegetable exports, which reached 1.9 million tonnes, increased by 8.2%. This volume represents 38.5% of all fresh vegetables exported by Spain, and is a sales record. As for the value of these exports in the 2013-2014 campaign, they reached 1,773 million Euro, 40.6% of the turnover of all Spanish fresh vegetable exports, as highlighted by the territorial delegate of Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment, José Manuel Ortiz. However, he also notes that this revenue represents about 25 million less than in the year 2012-2013 (-1.4%), due to lower prices.
In terms of volume, the month when more fresh vegetables were exported by the province was February 2014 (288.380 tonnes), followed by December 2013 (271,000) and March 2014 (265,000). Meanwhile, the months with the lowest sales were August, July and June. When it comes to billing, however, the best month was January 2014, with nearly 300 million Euro, followed by February (almost 264,000) and December 2013 (257,000), according to data compiled by Extenda from the Estacom report.
Top destinations
30.5% of fresh vegetables exported by Almeria last season were sold to Germany: 582,491 tonnes, representing an increase of 9.7%. The value of these sales grew by 0.8% and reached 564 million Euro, 31.8% of Almeria's total vegetable exports.
Taking the value of sales into account, the second destination was the Netherlands with 13.55% of the total, followed by France (13.5%, as well) and the UK (11.4%).
Russia, in terms of volume, is the 17th largest customers of Almeria's vegetables (23.8% more than in the previous season). When it comes to revenue, it ranked as the 15th most important destination, with a turnover of 13.8 million Euro, representing an increase of 20.3%.
Fresh fruits
Almeria's fresh fruit export volume (mostly melon and watermelon) last season exceeded 322,600 tonnes, up 2% compared to the previous season. This volume represents 9.2% of Spain's total, placing Almeria as the country's fifth largest supplier; a ranking which is led by Murcia. In terms of turnover, however, the value of sales dropped to 184.7 million Euro, 5.6% less than in the 2012-2013 season and 5.2% of the national total.
Germany is also the largest customer for Almeria's melons and watermelons. Last season, it purchased nearly 41% of the province's total export volume (13 787 tonnes), representing a 5.5% increase. The second destination was France (16.5%) and the third, the Netherlands (8.4%), 20% less. Russia is the fifteenth destination, with 1,412 tonnes (-9.1%).
In terms of billing, Germany accounts for 35.8% of Almeria's fresh fruit sales, with 66.1 million Euro, 6.2% less. France represented 17%, up 9.2%; and the Netherlands 8.3%, 30.5% less.
Products
Nine of the top ten products exported by the province of Almeria between January and August 2014 are fruits and vegetables. Tomatoes are the leading product, with 20.2% of total sales in the first eight months of the year. Second are peppers (19.1%), and the third place corresponds to cucumbers (9.2%).
Other important horticultural exports are courgettes (5.6%), watermelons (5.2%), aubergines (3.1), melons (1.4), lettuce (1.9%) and iceberg lettuce (1.6%). In total, over 73% of Almeria's total export turnover comes from fruit and vegetables.
Source: lavozdealmeria.es
Source: lavozdealmeria.es
