Spanish ports, a highly competitive option for the transport of horticultural products

Port traffic of horticultural products in Spain has continued to grow since 2019.

05-10-2022 (Public Body Puertos del Estado). State-owned ports are present at Fruit Attraction, the main horticultural fair in southern Europe. With more than 7.5 million tons moved (including shipments, arrivals, and transit) between January and August 2022, Spanish ports have become a highly competitive option for a sector crucial to Spanish trade. According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Spanish imports and exports of fruits and vegetables exceeded 22 million tons in 2020, with Spain exporting more than 17 million tons, becoming the main country in Europe and the second in the world, behind China.

Despite road transport still dominating Spanish exports to European countries, accounting for more than 83%, mainly with Germany, France, and the Netherlands, maritime transport holds more than 16% of that market, has not stopped growing since 2019, and growth expectations remain intact, given the number of connections that Spanish ports have with the main ports of those countries, as well as the diversity of services they offer.

Connecting the world to fresh food: 214 m2 to present a complete logistic-port offer

Under the slogan "Connecting the world to fresh food," the 16 main Spanish ports (Almería, Bay of Algeciras, Bay of Cádiz, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cartagena, Castellón, Huelva, Las Palmas, Málaga, Motril, S.C. Tenerife, Seville, Tarragona, Valencia, and Vigo) present their products and services aimed at the fresh fruit, legume, and vegetable market in the 14th edition of the Fruit Attraction fair.

Movement of fruits, vegetables, and legumes January-August 2022

Thus, Spanish ports offer more than 85 million m2 of land area and storage areas, refrigerated warehouses with nearly 2 million m3 of capacity, more than 300,000 linear meters of berthing, connections with any port in the world, points of entry inspection (PIF), phytosanitary services, and all kinds of logistical solutions.