Spanish fruit and vegetable exports in October amounted to 804,644 tonnes, almost the same level as in the same month of 2014 (+0.1%), while their value increased by 11% to a total of 804.6 million Euro, according to the latest data supplied by the Directorate General of Customs of the Ministry of Economy and processed by FEPEX.
The stabilization of the export volume in October was due to the decline in fruit shipments, which totalled 470,040 tonnes; 4% less than in the same month a year earlier. Meanwhile, vegetables have grown by 7%, reaching 334,604 tonnes.
In value terms, both subsectors have grown, by 20% in the case of vegetables, with a total of 306 million Euro, and by 6% in the case of fruit, reaching 498 million Euro.
By products, the main vegetables exported in October were cucumbers, peppers, lettuce and tomatoes, with a noteworthy growth in volume registered by cucumbers, which reached 68,584 tonnes (+15%). Also worth noting is the growth in the export of courgettes, up 25%, with a total of 31,272 tonnes, and potatoes, with 28,066 tons, which was 61% more.
As for fruits, we can highlight the decline registered by citrus, with a 6% drop in the case of mandarins and 2% in the case of oranges, totalling 41,744 tonnes. On the opposite side of the scale, there has been a strong increase in kaki exports, up 39% and totalling 43,294 tonnes.
When it comes to the global results between January and October 2015 compared to the same period a year earlier, Spanish fresh fruit and vegetable exports have grown by 7% in volume, to a total of 10 million tonnes, and by 14% in value, reaching 9,477 million Euro, compared to the same period of 2014. Vegetable shipments overseas amounted to 4 million tonnes (+4.5%) worth 3.768 million Euro (+14%) and fruit exports reached 6 million tonnes (+9%) worth 5,709 million Euro (+14%).
