Catalonia's agri-food exports up 12.40% in the first seven months of 2021

Catalan agri-food exports rose by 6.64% in July and have grown 12.40% over the first seven months of 2021 compared with the same period the previous year. These exports, worth more than €7,287 million, account for 15.61% of all Catalan exports across every sector, which reached €46,697 million.

In these first seven months of 2021 every agri-food sector grew notably, especially the wine sector, which is recovering its export position, up 23.25%.

Exports led by the meat sector

The meat sector, driven by pork sales, and fine food account for the bulk of export value.

Meat remains the leading agri-food export sector (37% of the total), with value up 4.21%. Pork stands out, accounting for 64.47% of the meat sector's export value and 23.85% of total export value. Sales of meat products are growing exponentially in the United Kingdom , and also strongly in Germany, Poland, Italy, Japan and France, although they are falling in the sector's main market, China.

Second place goes to the multi-product or fine food sector (28.09% of total export value). The sector's exports rose 15%. Its main categories are bakery and pastry products (6.41% of the fine food total), cocoa and cocoa preparations (6.38%) and vegetable juices, waters, beers, drinks and smoothies (5.47%). 

Among the remaining sectors, fruit and vegetables stands out, in third place (7.93%), with value up 6.25% on the same period in 2020. The best-selling products abroad by value are peaches, nectarines, citrus, apples and pears. The sector has boosted exports mainly to Germany and, to a lesser extent, the United Kingdom, France and Poland.

Oils are in fourth place with 7.58%, up 26.73% in value. Olive oil accounts for 36.87% of this sector, up 1.30% in value. Oil has grown mainly in France, the Netherlands, Morocco and Portugal.

The wine and cava sector breaks the downward trend of the previous year with growth of 23.25% on 2020. It should be noted that global wine trade fell 7% in value during 2020. The sector remains the fifth largest exporter, accounting for 4.62% of Catalan exports. Cava makes up almost 46.70% of export value. The markets behind this turnaround in wine and cava are the United States, thanks to the removal of the Trump tariffs, now the leading export market ahead of Germany, which is also growing significantly. The United Kingdom, still committed to our wines despite the logistical and customs difficulties created by Brexit, along with Japan and the Netherlands, complete the list of main destination markets for Catalan wines and cavas.

The cereals and milling account for 4.29%, with growth of 24.39% in value.

Finally, the fish and seafood sector, in seventh place, accounts for 2.13% of agri-food exports, up 30.24%, reversing the cumulative decline it carried through 2020.

The main importers of Catalan agri-food products during 2021 were: France (17.22%), China (14.37%), Italy (8.476%), Germany (5.68%), Portugal (4.89%), United Kingdom (4.70%), Netherlands (2.99%), Japan (2.82%) and the United States (2.77%). China established itself as the second destination in 2020 and in these first seven months of 2021 has grown 28.24%. Exports to Korea (93.29%), Morocco (46.79%) and Saudi Arabia (31.92%) also rose sharply.

It is clear that Middle Eastern, Asian and African countries are the most dynamic in terms of growth in European agri-food imports. The boost in Catalan overseas sales is concentrated especially in geographical areas with growing populations and rising middle-class incomes. 

Catalonia maintains the trade surplus achieved from the first half of 2019, recording a coverage ratio of 122.26 between January and July 2021, well above the 117.69 recorded for the whole of 2020.