Puertos del Estado highlights the role of Spanish ports in fresh produce logistics
• “Spain is not only a leading exporter of fruit and vegetables, but also a privileged logistics hub thanks to its ports,” stressed the president of the institution, Gustavo Santana
30-09-2025 (Puertos del Estado). “Spanish ports play a key role in the logistics of fresh produce. Thanks to their strategic location, intermodal connectivity, and state-of-the-art infrastructure, our ports have consolidated their position as essential logistics hubs to ensure that fruit and vegetables reach their destinations with maximum speed and quality.” With these words, the president of Puertos del Estado, Gustavo Santana, welcomed visitors to the Ports of Spain stand at Fruit Attraction.
Puertos del Estado and 16 port authorities are taking part from today until 2 October in what has become the leading trade fair for the sector, with the aim of consolidating Spain and its ports as the main logistics platform for global fresh produce trade.
Spanish ports offer the fruit and vegetable sector nearly 100 million m² of land and storage areas, close to 2 million m³ in refrigerated warehouses, reefer connections, almost 395,000 linear metres of berths, Border Control Posts (BCP) reinforced after the entry into force of the new border control services model for goods, phytosanitary services, and integrated logistics solutions. All of this is supported by Spain’s geostrategic position, as the leading country in Europe for maritime connectivity, with more than 200 international connections.
“Spain is not only a leading exporter of fruit and vegetables, but also a privileged logistics hub thanks to its ports. From here, goods can quickly reach the main European and global markets,” Santana pointed out, highlighting the specific services developed by ports for temperature-sensitive products and the cutting-edge technology in refrigeration, traceability, and quality control systems, such as the cold logistics hub at the Port of Huelva, presented at the stand.
The president also underlined the commitment of the state-owned port system to its decarbonisation strategy —with projects on new fuels, onshore power supply (OPS) for berthed vessels to reduce emissions, and offshore wind power— as well as to digital transformation, in order to enhance the efficiency and traceability of the entire transport chain. “Sustainability, digitalisation and innovation are the key pillars to improve the competitiveness of the port system in a context of global uncertainty,” Santana added.
In 2024, Spanish ports handled 11.3 million tonnes of fruit and vegetables. In the first eight months of 2025, almost 7 million tonnes have already been recorded, with strong growth in traffic with Latin America, North Africa and Europe.
With more than 2,400 exhibitors from 64 countries and over 120,000 professionals from 150 countries expected to attend, Fruit Attraction once again positions Madrid as the epicentre of the international fruit and vegetable sector.
At the 215 m² Ports of Spain stand, led by Puertos del Estado under the claim “Moving the best of nature”, the 16 participating ports (Alicante, Algeciras Bay, Cádiz Bay, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cartagena, Castellón, Huelva, Las Palmas, Málaga, Motril, Seville, Tarragona, Valencia, Vigo and Vilagarcía) will hold an extensive schedule of meetings with international operators throughout the fair.