Agri-Food Industry

A strong, resilient industry

With revenue close to €140 bn and employing more than 440,000 people, the Spanish agri-food industry is the country's main manufacturing activity.

Spain is the fourth agri-food power in Europe and tenth in the world. Due to the quality of its products and its extensive range of items, the Spanish agri-food industry is highly regarded internationally.

During the pandemic, the Spanish food industry proved its resilience and maintained a continuous supply both inside and outside the country. Its efficient logistics and infrastructure systems prevented supply chains from breaking down, and it even increased exports.

The dynamic nature of Spanish agri-food exports, showing twelve continuous years of surplus, and representing almost 20% of the country's total exports, have made the industry the fourth-ranked European exporter and the seventh worldwide in these products. 

More than 30,000 companies in the industry currently export food and drink from Spain, with internationalisation being one of the main pillars of its strong position and growth.

In the case of Spain, the food and drink/tourism/cuisine link guarantees a high level of consumption and promotes the country brand, where agri-food produce has become an essential part of the country's culture and traditions.

Alongside this tradition, the industry is undergoing a disruptive and decisive transformation towards digitalisation and sustainability to face new challenges in the form of climate change and adapting to new consumer trends. Spanish Technology Centres are world leaders in specific areas ranging from developing new ingredients to new high-quality protein sources, enhancing nutritional properties and precision agriculture. In recent years, Spain has become one of the few "foodtech" nations, developing an enterprising ecosystem across the entire agri-food value chain.

Margarita González

Project Manager

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Why invest

in Spain’s
agri-food industry?

Agri-food is a key industry in the Spanish economy. It is strong and resilient and is the country's top-ranked industry.

Characteristic

Sound business structure

Spain boasts more than 30,000 agri-food companies, including entrepreneurs and multinationals, and covering the entire value chain.

Characteristic

Access to an abundance of high-quality raw materials

Spain ranks second in the European Union in terms of arable land area, and its agricultural production is extensive and diverse. Spain is one of the European leaders in organic farming.

Characteristic

International competitiveness

Spain is the fourth largest exporter of agri-food products in the European Union. Despite the heavy impact of the pandemic on international trade, Spanish a agrifood exports have continued to grow strongly.

Characteristic

Innovation

Spain has a large innovation ecosystem with more than 20 cutting-edge technology centres, 50 specialist universities and business associations, science parks, incubators and accelerators and start-ups.

Characteristic

Workforce

An industry with skilled labour available and competitive labour costs.

Characteristic

Connectivity

An unbeatable network of infrastructure and logistics that is among the most competitive in the world. More than 17,000 km of motorways, 50 airports and 46 ports.

Spain is the gateway to Europe, North Africa and Latin America. 

Characteristic

Digital transformation

The industry focuses on a more efficient and sustainable agri-food system across the whole value chain, backed by government, regional and European bodies.

What are the best
investment opportunities?

Organic products

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Agritech

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Foodtech

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Spain ranks second, after France, in the European Union in terms of land area used for organic farming (2.44 million hectares), according to Eurostat data, and sixth in the world.

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Andalusia, Castilla La Mancha and Catalonia are the regions with the highest number of organic farms.

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Consumption of organic produce is starting to take off in Spain. Up 9% in the last year, the market value for organic produce is estimated at €2.75 bn. 

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Per capita consumption has risen to €58.15/inhabitant, pushing the country up into the top 10 in the world.

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The share of animal-based foods in industrial organic production is lower than plant-based foods, and is the area with the most opportunities.

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It is estimated that there are about 50,000 people involved in this market segment, including farmers, manufacturers and retailers. 

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As for distribution, the major chains in the Spanish market have already entered this segment and represent 40% of the total share.

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The competent authorities (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food) promote organic production as a priority industry, following the European Green Deal strategy. 

Europe /Organic Farming Area

Europe

17.1

Million ha

Half of Europe's organic farmland is in 4 countries.

Spain

2.44

Million ha

The country with the largest area of organic farmland is France, followed by Spain and Italy.

3.44%

of Europe’s farmland is organic (EU 9.16%)

Twelve countries have 10% or more of their agricultural land under organic management.

+70.5%

in the decade 2010-2020 
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From 2019 to 2020 the organic agricultural land grew by 0.6 Million hectares.

Fuente: FiBL Statistics, Eurostat Statistics Explained y E covalia

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Spain is one of the countries with the highest proportion of agricultural GDP in the European Union, with 2.7%.

After France, it is the European country with the largest agricultural land area (13.3% of the total) and the fourth in terms of number of farms (8.9% of total).

By region, Andalusia, Castilla León and Castilla La Mancha lead the way in terms of agricultural production value. The main crops, in this order, are cereals (barley, wheat and corn), olives for mills, vines, sunflowers for industrial use, tree fruits and nuts (almonds, oranges and mandarins mainly) and vegetables.

The global challenge of producing more food sustainably is also present in the Spanish agricultural industry. The high levels of digitalisation and technology that are increasingly required in this industry to increase productivity, improve efficiency and adapt production represent a great opportunity for investment.

An important ecosystem is being built in Spain around agricultural innovation. From multinational companies to start-ups and SMEs, multiple solutions are being developed to promote a highly efficient and sustainable agri-food system. These include:

·         Green biotechnology: soil regeneration, seed optimisation, etc.

·         Automated crop systems: Software and hardware for agriculture.

·         Robotics applied to agriculture.

·         Water management and new cultivation systems: Vertical farming, indoor farming, hydroponics and aquaponics, among others. 

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The industry is undergoing a decisive transformation towards more sustainable and efficient projects accounting with public support at regional and national level. The different developments in this area have allowed Spain to remain strong in Foodtech investment in the face of the most important investment drop that the sector has experienced. In the past year the Foodtech space has risen up to €268M, a 9.38% increase since the previous year. In this increase the alternative protein stands out with an outstanding presence of international investors.

Some of the innovations that are taking place are related to the following areas:

·         Development of alternative proteins

·         Development of healthier and more sustainable ingredients

·         A more efficient and sustainable agri-food system

·         Transparency and traceability in the value chain

·         Gastronomy and Foodtech join forces to provide solutions

·         The reinvention of foodservice

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Leading regions
for the agri-food industry

Main food-producing regions

 

By turnover

Mapa sectors regions
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Icon Sales Sales: 2,7%

Find out more about Extremadura Arrow icon
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Icon Sales Sales: 8,2%

Find out more about Valencia Arrow icon
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Icon Sales Sales: 5,3%

Find out more about Murcia Arrow icon
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Icon Sales Sales: 0,5%

Find out more about Balearic Islands Arrow icon
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Icon Sales Sales: 1,8%

Find out more about La Rioja Arrow icon
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Icon Sales Sales: 1,7%

Find out more about Asturias Arrow icon
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Icon Sales Sales: 1,2%

Find out more about Canary Islands Arrow icon
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Icon Sales Sales: 1,3%

Find out more about Cantabria Arrow icon
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Icon Sales Sales: 7,5%

Find out more about Galicia Arrow icon
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Icon Sales Sales: 15,3%

Find out more about Andalusia Arrow icon
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Icon Sales Sales: 3,9%

Find out more about Aragon Arrow icon
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Icon Sales Sales: 8,5%

Find out more about Castille and Leon Arrow icon
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Icon Sales Sales: 6,9%

Find out more about Castilla-La Mancha Arrow icon
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Icon Sales Sales: 4,8%

Find out more about Madrid Arrow icon
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Icon Sales Sales: 3,5%

Find out more about Basque Country Arrow icon
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Icon Sales Sales: 23,7%

Find out more about Catalonia Arrow icon
>20
10%-20%
5%-10%
<5%

Success stories

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Events

 

Alimentaria

Alimentaria is the leading trade fair in the domestic market for professionals in the food, beverage and food service industry. 

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SOUTH SUMMIT BRAZIL

ICEX-Invest in Spain through OFECOME Sao Paulo will once again participate in SOUTH SUMMIT in Porto Alegre (Brazil), organised by SPAIN STARTUP, which will take place in Porto Alegre from 20 to 22 March.

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FOOD 4 FUTURE

Bilbao will host FOOD 4 FUTURE from 16 to 18 April. 

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