Overseas sales fruit and Spanish vegetables Over €15,800m in 2022, it’s close to 50% more than in 2014, when its growth didn’t stop, although it was less buoyant after weather-related volume cuts last year. Export is the key growth valve for Türkiye. Spanish primary sector, because they account for two-thirds of sales, and foreign markets allow better margins than the domestic market. As a result of the technologicalization of the sector and the increasing weight of foreign markets, the size of the companies included in the sector has also increased. Mutual funds have also entered the sector rapidly in recent years and found attractive returns. According to industry research recently published by the DBK Sectoral Observatory Informa, the joint turnover of the 30 largest wholesalers currently exceeds 7 billion 600 million euros.
Although there is an increasing trend towards integration and merger in producer and marketer organizations, many small and medium-sized producers have been identified in the sector. There is a higher degree of concentration in private wholesale marketing. The combined total billing of the 20 key operators exceeded €6,000 million in 2021, with the first thirty already billed close to 7,600 million.
disposition
According to consulting firm Valoral Advisors, in recent years the number of investment funds specializing in agriculture and food has grown to almost 900 funds, with close to 140,000 million euros in assets under management. Spain, the world’s seventh agri-food power, is one of the favorite destinations of national and international capital. But this is a planetary trend. The appetite for such assets has increased since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, and despite the slowdown in current investment activity, the country’s properties are expected to remain a safe-haven value due to their high profitability and resilience to cyclical changes.
Specifically, the total volume of transactions handled by institutional investors in the sector in Iberia (Spain and Portugal) exceeded 1,000 million in 2022. CBRE. According to Thomas Teixeira, head of Agribusiness in Iberia at CBRE, he acknowledges that capital interest in agricultural production is increasing, given the forecast that agricultural production should increase by 30% by 2030. “Uncertainty about inflation is driving interest in the agricultural sector. Given the prospects for good profitability due to the predictable rise in prices,” he explains. “A number of specific factors have driven agribusiness in Spain to a ‘boom’. Wealth funds, venture capital and pensions and insurers are keeping an eye on arable land in Spain,” he reiterates. However, in the face of one of the most persistent droughts in recent years and increases in transportation and fertilizer costs, uncertainty surrounds these investments.
An example of these moves was the company Planasa, which last year received offers of over 1,000 million euros from investment funds such as CVC, Partners, KKR, Permira and Bridgepoint. planaz, [propiedad del grupo inversor Cinven (MásMóvil , Hotelbeds, RB Iberia (que aglutina el negocio de Burger King, Popeyes y Tim Hortons en España y Portugal), Tinsa y Ufinet]specializes in the production of blueberry, raspberry, strawberry and blackberry varieties. But it also produces garlic, asparagus or avocado. With a workforce of around 4,000 people and an ebitda (gross profit) of around 80 million, it expects to bill around 210 million euros this year. It is an example of the incoming new farming profile. Another example is the Ametller Origen group, which plans to invest 180 million to promote the verticalization of the agribusiness-food distributor and become a benchmark in new technical agriculture.
Price increase
Gesvalt assessment company, More than 90% of the properties of rustic fincas in Spain are private, commercial companies increase their assets every year. According to the consultant, currently these companies represent only 2.5% of farms and about 12% of agricultural land, so growth prospects for investments in the agricultural sector are high. Gesvalt predicts an increase in the price of land for crops by 2023, although traditionally revaluations have been moderate.
According to data from the DBK study, its value Fruit and vegetable production in Spain fell 2.4% in 2022 to 20,645 million euros.. Despite the noticeable increase in prices, there was a significant decrease in production volume last year due to adverse weather conditions. All experts predict that in the future, producers of agricultural and livestock products will have to take into account that significant investments will be required to cope with crops in the region. context of water shortages and rising energy costs.
Spain’s fresh fruit and vegetable exports in 2022 amounted to 12 million tons, which is 10.4% less than in 2021, while the value increased by approximately 1.5% to 15,930 million euros, according to the data of the Customs and Excise Office. It is announced to the public by the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade.
According to the Federation of Spanish Fruit, Vegetable, Flower and Livestock Exporters’ Associations, the sharp decline in the volume of exported fresh fruit and vegetables, confirmed by the final data for 2022, is largely due to adverse weather conditions (fepex). There were frosts in the spring that led to a sharp reduction in stone fruit, particularly in Aragon and Catalonia, or incessant rains in April and May in horticultural-heavy regions such as Murcia. Added to this were the summer heat waves and the very hot start of winter, which affected Andalusian fruit and vegetable production.
growth since 2014
in this context increase in energy and fertilizer costs, fruit and vegetable exports slowed their growth in 2022, up 1.5% compared to 7.5% a year earlier. However, Spain’s fruit and vegetable sales abroad have not stopped growing since 2014 and have since increased by close to 50%. Rising energy costs have triggered production prices in northern Europe, benefiting product imports from southern Europe, but less than originally anticipated by the industry. Despite the increase in exports, the value of fruit exports decreased by 2.7 percent and became 8 billion 885 million euros. Sales of vegetables abroad increased by 7.5% and reached 6,949 million euros.
Export
This European Union Spain, which brings together 81% and 79% of fruit and vegetable sales abroad, stands out as the main destination of exports., respectively. On a country basis, Germany, France and the United Kingdom are structured as the main target countries in both segments, bringing together around 60% of the value of goods exported together in both cases.
Fruit and vegetable imports increased by 12.8% to 3 billion 523 million. stands out Weight of imports from Moroccoby concentrating 20% of the total imported fruit and 46% in the case of vegetables.
HE The annual decline in export volume was more evident in fruit, which totaled 6.6 million tons, down 13%. and affects almost all products. For stone fruits, such as peaches, 24% less and 262,211 tonnes, or nectarines 20% less and 277,539 tonnes. In red fruits, strawberries decreased by 12% to 278,137 tons, blueberries decreased by 3% to 86,879 tons. The total value of fruit exports was 8,843 million euros (-3%).
Vegetable exports decreased by 7 percent in 2022 compared to 2021, a total of 5.3 million tons, Major exported vegetables such as pepper were reduced by 795,669 tons (-7%), lettuce by 714,503 tons (-12%), tomatoes by 629,269 tons (-5%) or cabbage by 500,520 tons (-7%). The total value of vegetable exports increased by 7% to 7,086 million euros.