Exports of fruit, vegetables and flowers increase by 16% until June, to 939 million euros, Portugal Fresh announced this Wednesday, asking the Government to stop the escalation of costs, since the measures adopted do not allow it to compete with Spain .
All the measures announced by the Government so far are small compared to those adopted in Spain, Portugal’s biggest competitor in terms of production,” warns the Association for the Promotion of Fruit, Vegetables and Flowers of Portugal in a statement, adding that Until June, exports grew by 16% in value and 14% in volume, respectively, to 939 million euros and almost 805 thousand tons.
Portugal Fresh also calls for a “fairer distribution of the value of production” in the agri-food chain, with “better remuneration” for producers.
Regarding the destination countries of national exports, it indicates that Spain is the largest buyer of Portuguese fruit, vegetables and flowers, with 29% of the total exported, followed by France (13.5%) and the Netherlands (13.5 %), Germany. (8.5%) and the United Kingdom (7.8%).
On the global stage, the European Union is the main market in the sector and represents 81% of the total value of exports.
However, if the price per kilogram (kg) of the exported products is analyzed, the The results show that “growth is not enough to offset rising costs and inflation”reads in the statement.
It is also mentioned that the value per kilogram in the first semester increased only 1.3%.
For the president of Portugal Fresh, Gonçalo Santos Andrade, these “record results” in terms of exports of fruits, vegetables and flowers.
However, he believes that these results “can only be maintained” with the reinforcement of international promotion initiatives, productive investment and with a “true enhancement” of this sector, which is “strategic for the national economy”.
Despite saying that the indicators “are positive”, he warns that the agri-food sector “is facing an unprecedented crisis” with the rise in the costs of energy, fuel, fertilizers and other raw materials.
At the same time, the extreme drought, which has affected the country from north to south “Currently it is reducing yields and sizes” of most fruits and vegetablessays the person in charge.
For Portugal Fresh, it is necessary to “compensate for the effects of the drought” that affects the entire national territory, it is also urgent to modernize hydro-agricultural uses, as well as create ponds and dams, “vital” to overcome the impacts of climate change.
“Portuguese products are in great demand on the international market and if we do not renew and modernize the existing irrigation perimeters and create new ones, the countries of southern Europe will take advantage of our lack of an irrigation strategy,” warns Gonçalo Santos de Andrade.
Portugal Fresh has an ongoing Joint Internationalization Project 2022/2023 supported by Portugal 2020 — Operational Program for Competitiveness and Internationalization, which includes a global investment of 948,900.85 euros, 54% financed by the ERDF — European Regional Development Fund .
Source: Observadora
