In the latest campaign (2015/2016), the Andalusian strawberry sector reached the highest volume of fruit exports of the last five seasons, exceeding 263,024 tonnes, as well as the highest export value, reaching 483.8 million Euro.
According to the report for the latest campaign, which has just been published by the Prices and Markets Observatory of the Regional Government of Andalusia, more than 97% of the volume exported went to European Union countries.
The main trading partner was Germany, which absorbed 34.5% of Andalusian strawberry exports, with a total of 90,610 tonnes; followed by France, with 44,800 tonnes (17%) and the United Kingdom, with 37,902 tonnes (14.4%). Far behind are Italy, Portugal, Austria and the Netherlands.
Over the last five years, the acreage devoted to strawberries increased in the period between 2010 and 2013, but decreased in the period between 2014 and 2016, with more than 70% of the acreage grown under the Integrated Production system.
The production, however, has not stopped growing during the period from 2010 to 2016. In the latest campaign, 88.6% of Andalusia's strawberry production came from the province of Huelva (compared to 99.7% in 2014/15).
In 2015, Andalusian strawberries accounted for 77.6% of Spain's total production and for 22.5% of the EU-28 production, according to Eurostat data cited in the Observatory report.
Spain produced 29% of the EU-28's strawberries last year, with Poland and Germany in second and third place of the ranking of Europe's largest strawberry producers, with a share of 16% and 13%, respectively.
