Andalusia’s agri-food exports reached 4,766 million euros in the first four months of 2021, its best historical record for a January-April period since comparable data has been available (1995), thanks to year-on-year growth of 4.5%. This is a strategic sector, which contributes 3,320 million euros of positive foreign trade to the regional economy; it provides territorial cohesion, with all provinces showing growth, and diversification of destinations, with China (+20.4%) and the United States (+16.3%) as two of the four fastest-growing markets in the top 10.
This sector has strengthened, growing not only in sales but also with a strong increase in the number of exporting companies, up 19.6% year-on-year to 2,869, according to data from Extenda. As a result, Andalusia continues to lead Spanish food and drink exports, accounting for almost one in four euros (24.3%) of total national sales (19,578 million), four points ahead of Catalonia (20%) and ten points ahead of Valencia (14.5%).
In the first four months of this year, sales grew in six of the top ten chapters exported by the Andalusian agri-food sector, which continue to be led by vegetables, with 1,651 million euros, 35% of the total, and a slight decrease of 0.2% compared to the first four months of the previous year; followed by fruit, with 1,193 million, 25% of the total and an increase of 3.1%; and olive oil, with 852 million (17.9% of the total) and an increase of 22.5%.
The fourth chapter in sales was canned fruit and vegetable products, with 220 million, 4.6%, and a decrease of 13.6%; followed by frozen meat and offal, with 120 million, 2.5% of the total, with an increase of 31.1%; fish and seafood, with 84 million (1.8%), which recorded the second-highest increase in the Top 10, with a growth of 42.8%; other fats and oils, with 80 million, 1.7% of the total and a decrease of 1.5%; live plants and floriculture products, with 77 million (1.6%), registering the highest increase of the Top10, 57%; cereals and milling products, with 58 million, 1.2% of the total, with a decrease of 53%; and, in the tenth position, the chapter of miscellaneous food preparations, with 57 million, 1.2%, and an increase of 18.4%.
Andalusian food and beverages have significantly increased their sales in Asian destinations, with China as the second fastest-growing market of the top ten in this period (+20.4%); and Africa and America, where market share is gained in countries that are among the top 20, such as Morocco (+23.6%); the United States (+16.3%); and Canada (+16%).
Europe is the main destination for Andalusian agriculture, with exports continuing to increase in its main markets in the period January-April 2021. Furthermore, significant progress has been made in the diversification of destinations, with two of the four countries with the highest growth in sales in the Top 10, China, up 20.4%, and the United States, up 16.3%, being non-EU countries, and also the market with the highest growth in the Top 20, South Korea, up 57%.
