According to data shared by Extenda-Andalucía Exportacion e Inversión Extranjera, the Andalusian Agency for Exports and Foreign Promotion, in the first quarter of the year, Almeria's agri-food exports totaled 1,456.6 million euro, i.e. 13.8% more than in the same period last year.
Vegetables accounted for 94.1% of this total, registering a 16.6% increase. Fruits followed with 43.714 million euro, although in this case, shipments fell by 33.8% compared to the same period of 2021.
Fresh pepper was the most exported agri-food product. In the first quarter, its shipments totaled 422.9 million euro, accounting for 29% of the total (+4.5%). They were followed by the tomato, with 292.1 million euro and 20.1% of the total value (+23.8%); cucumber, with 274.9 million (+39.4%), and zucchini with 138.5 million and a 14.1% increase over the same period of the previous year.
Almeria accounted for 37.2% of Andalusia's agri-food exports which, from January to March, amounted to 3,913.3 million euro (+11.1%) and accounted for 24.7% of all Spanish agri-food exports.
Almeria sent 99.1% of its agri-food exports to Europe for a value of 1,443 million euro, i.e. 13.9% more than in the same period of the previous year. Germany continues to be the main destination for Almeria's products, mainly its vegetables, accounting for 31.8% of exports and 463.79 million euros (+17.6%). It was followed by the United Kingdom, which consolidated its second position with 214.8 million euro (+6.4%). The top-five markets for Almeria's products were completed by France, with 169.7 million euro (+2.7%), the Netherlands, with 149.9 million (+7.5%), and Poland, with 92.1 million euro (+18.2%).
The countries that recorded the highest growth in agri-food purchases from Almeria in this period were Greece, which ranked 26th with 1.3 million euro and +74.6%; Austria, which ranked 11th with 25.5 million euro and +72%, and the United States, which ranked twenty-second with 4.1 million euro and a 64.1% increase in purchases from Almeria. Meanwhile, Morocco is the country that decreased its purchases from Almeria the most (-33.7%) to 3.4 million euro.
Source: diariodealmeria.es