The shortage in planting and the emergence of Egypt as a supplier mark the potato campaign in Spain

Fresh Common Potato

Vegetables

Spain

Market & Price Trends

Innovation & Technology

Published Mar 21, 2024

Tridge summary

In 2023, Spain's most imported product in the fruit and vegetable sector was potatoes, with over one million tons imported primarily from France, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Egypt. Despite the surge in imports, Spain's potato exports also saw a 28% increase over the past five years. However, the FEPEX Potato Committee has raised concerns about a shortage of seed potatoes and a decrease in potato consumption, emphasizing the need for potatoes to be included in the National Strategic Plan's sectoral interventions.

Disclaimer: The above summary was generated by a state-of-the-art LLM model and is intended for informational purposes only. It is recommended that readers refer to the original article for more context.

Original content

The potato is the product within the fruit and vegetable sector most imported by Spain. With more than one million tons imported in 2023, a figure equivalent to 55% of what is produced, it is a topic of special relevance for the FEPEX Potato Committee, which has met to analyze the forecasts for the campaign and the evolution of the foreign trade. According to data provided by ICEX, Spanish potato imports grew by 2% in volume and 29% in value, spending €472 million on their purchase. France continues to be the main supplier of potatoes in our country, since it markets 70% of what is imported, followed by the Netherlands, which supplies 8.5%, Portugal (5%) and Egypt (4.6%). Precisely this last country has burst into Europe with force, “being a new competitor in the national early potato market,” they point out. In our country, in the last year the purchase of Egyptian potatoes has multiplied by six both in volume, acquiring 50,488 t, and in value (€24.97 M). In this way, Egypt has ...

Source: Alimarket