The data related to foreign trade over the past month reflect the outstanding growth in the agri-food export of the Valencian community in all respects.

The positive balance was supplemented by an increase in the export of agri-food products, which is 9.8% more than in January 2019 and amounts to 661.1 million euros, which is 27.2% of supplies from the Valencian community.

Did you know? In Spain, such fruits are grown: apples, pears, citrus fruits, bananas, quinces, pomegranates, peaches, avocados, cherimoyu, persimmons, medlar, cream apples, grapes, figs.

51% of the fruit exported by Spain in January was produced by Valencia. By type of product, the Valencian community led the export of fruit throughout the Spanish state (51.1%), followed by Andalusia (24.6%). Fruit supplies - in the amount of EUR 386.5 million - amounted to 58.5% of the total volume of Valencian agri-food supplies, which shows an increase of 15.5% compared with the same period in 2019.

Despite the leadership of the fruit sector, vegetables and wine also rose. Vegetables - from 94.4 million euros (14.3% of exports), grew by 3% compared with January last year, while the wine sector grew by 8.7% and reached 16.2 million euros.

Agriculture Minister Mireia Molla highlighted the efforts of farmers and the agri-food industry in the Valencian community. “These data highlight the importance of the industry for the Valencia economy. A guarantee of fresh food in the current state of anxiety shows the commitment of farmers and all the people who continue to work in this industry. Thanks to this sector, we all, as consumers, have access to the best products: those that are grown and produced closer to our homes, ”said Molla.

• Torrential rains caused serious damage to crops in Alicante and Murcia, which significantly reduced production volumes.
• For about five years, citrus plantations in Galicia and northern Portugal have been the subject of one of the most serious threats to growing citrus fruits near the Mediterranean, namely African citrus psyllid (Trioza erytreae). This insect is the main factor in the development of bacterial citrus cancer (citrus gardening or HLB), an incurable bacterial disease of plants, the only way to combat which is to eliminate and localize its carriers.
• The Spanish province of Huelva has to deal with a large shortage of strawberry pickers.