The Spanish Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, argued in favor of promoting the domestic consumption of organic products, both for their environmental benefits and to take advantage of the growth of the organic production in Spain.
At the presentation of the promotional campaign "We are eco-logical. Nothing to hide", which is part of the Food from Spain strategy, Luis Planas said that the campaign is focused on transparency, traceability, certification and labeling, since there are consumers who still have doubts regarding raw materials or organic products.
It is therefore considered essential that the consumer sees the Euro-Leaf certification as an identifier that guarantees the quality of organic products at each stage of their production process. The certification and labeling tools act as an "identity card" that helps consumers identify guaranteed organic foodstuffs.
Unstoppable growth
Minister Luis Planas recalled that Spain is the EU country with the largest area devoted to organic production. 10% of its usable agricultural area is already organic, and this puts Spain in a privileged position to meet the goal of the strategy "From farm to fork", which is to reach 25% by 2030.
The figures available back the idea that organic production is experiencing unstoppable growth. Nearly 2.5 million hectares were devoted to these productions in 2020, which entails an average annual increase of 4.8% in the last five years.
The organic production generated 2,675 million Euro in 2020; an increase of 15.75% over the previous year. Similarly, the number of operators is growing every year. There were 53,000 accounted for in 2020, which entails an increase of 6.8% compared to 2019. Also, in 2019, organic product exports grew by 17% and reached 1,165 million Euro. These data place Spain as the fourth largest exporter of organic products worldwide and are a testament to the huge importance of this sector in our country.
Matching production and consumption
Minister Planas also pointed out that it is essential for consumption to grow at a similar level as the production. In fact, achieving this is one of the priorities of the Roadmap for Organic Production developed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, which aims to consolidate the consumption of organic food.
In 2020, the consumption of organic products in Spain generated 2,528 million Euro, 7% more than in the previous year.