Last week, the European Parliament approved the EU's free trade agreement with Singapore, which could enter into force later this year, and the investment protection agreement, which will have to be ratified by the member states. Spanish fresh fruit and vegetable exports to Singapore up until November 2018 stood at 3,502 tons worth 7.1 million Euro, according to the latest official data from the General Directorate of Customs. Of these, 3,464 tonnes corresponded to fruit worth 7,02 million Euro and 38 tonnes to vegetables worth 133,938 Euro.
The EU's free trade agreement with Singapore will eliminate virtually all tariffs between the two sides within five years, according to the European Parliament. "It is a comprehensive agreement that covers market access, tariffs, non-tariff barriers, trade promotion, liberalization of services, procurement, sustainable development and intellectual property, including geographical indications and origin, competence and transparency rules."
In recent years, there has been a positive development in Spain's fresh fruit and vegetable shipments to Singapore, having gone from 4 million Euro in 2014 to 9.538 million Euro in 2017 (with a strong focus on fruit). The most exported fruits are kakis, with 1.9 million Euro; blueberries, with 1 million Euro; lemons, with 945,917 Euro; peaches, with 937,035 Euro, and plums, with 811,292 Euro. This positive development has been one of the main factors behind Singapore's choice as one of the invited countries of the next edition of Fruit Attraction, an international fair for the fruit and vegetable sector organized by Ifema and Fepex. Its eleventh edition will be held from October 22 to 24.
