The National Garlic Board held a meeting in the framework of the eighth edition of the fair Fruit Attraction to analyse the situation in the sector, together with regional associations, production companies and marketers. The meeting was attended by the President of the Garlic Department at ASAJA Cordoba, Miguel del Pino.
This fair is a key event for the fruit and vegetable sector at an international level; therefore, the National Garlic Board decided to hold a congress there with representatives of Andalusia, Castile-La Mancha, Castile-Leon, Extremadura and Madrid, with the aim of analysing the situation in the garlic sector. Of particular interest was the market situation in the countries where Spain is considered a premium supplier, since year after year the product is arriving at new destinations, with Spanish garlic demanded because of its reputation and quality. In the last two seasons, production and international trade (intra and extra) have been boosted, reaching record figures in terms of volume and value. According to official data, Spain grew 20,510 hectares of garlic during the 2015-16 campaign.
At the meeting, they addressed some issues of domestic concern, and in particular, the preparation of the next contact group of the Spanish-French-Italian fruit and vegetables Joint Committee, which is scheduled to meet in Rome before the end of the year.
Regarding production, the 2015-16 campaign came to a close with more than 200,000 tonnes of garlic; a record figure in the last 20 years, the result of an increasing use of technology in about 20,510 hectares of garlic. Spain exported nearly 150,000 tonnes of garlic worth 243 million Euro, with two-thirds of the total volume going to EU countries, namely (in order of importance) Italy, France, Germany and the UK. The rest was shipped to a large number of countries, most notably Brazil, Morocco, the United States, Haiti, Algeria and Tunisia.
Although China continues to play a leading role in the global garlic market, with the world's largest production and a very dominant position, in recent seasons the prices offered have not been as aggressive (they are usually well below the European production costs) and the supply has been declining as a result of agro-climatic incidents.
As regards the Spanish province of Cordoba, the data have been positive, with a garlic production totalling 31,000 tonnes, similar to that of the previous year, and a 5% increase in the acreage, reaching 2,600 hectares. As in the domestic market, prices at origin have been as good as last year, to which we must add a better situation for exports, with foreign markets receiving 90% of the production harvested in the province.
Source: asaja.com
