Over the last five years, there has been a sharp 26 per cent fall in the total value of Murcia\u2019s fruit and vegetable exports … to the UK, coupled with a six per cent decline in value, according to the Proexport network, citing Eurostat data. This is the toll on Murcia\u2019s agricultural sector as we mark the tenth anniversary of Brexit, which signalled the UK\u2019s departure from the EU. Comparing 2021 \u2013 the first financial year following the UK\u2019s effective exit from the single market \u2013 with 2025, exports of fruit and vegetables from Murcia have fallen from 406,868 to 301,577 tonnes. In euros, turnover fell from 550 million to 515.<\/p>\n
The rise in average export prices has only partly offset the fall in volume, as the sector\u2019s rising costs have had to be passed on to the price at source, explained Fernando G\u00f3mez, Director General of Proexport. According to the Spanish federation of fruit and vegetable producers\u2019 associations (Fepex), the UK market remains the third most important for Spanish fruit and vegetable exports. However, new administrative requirements following the UK\u2019s exit from the EU have driven up costs, while competition from countries such as Morocco, South Africa, Turkey and Egypt has intensified.<\/p>\n
\nMurcia is suffering the most\n<\/p>\n
At national level, Spanish sales of fresh fruit and vegetables to the UK between 2016 and 2025 have fallen by 16.6 per cent, although the value has risen by almost 30 per cent. Fepex uses a longer time frame for its calculations, although the situation is worse in Murcia, as it has seen a decline in both tonnage and value, unlike the Spanish average.<\/p>\n
The Proexport executive highlighted the \u201cgradual and widespread decline\u201d in export volumes for all Murcian products analysed, with more moderate falls in products facing less global competition, such as cabbages and lettuces. By contrast, the declines over the last five years have been significant for cucumbers (-70%), tomatoes (-42%), melons (-41%) and watermelons (-34%). There have also been notable falls in exports of table grapes and lemons, although the figures provided by customs do not match those from the sector.<\/p>\n
\nTen years on from the referendum, imports from third countries such as Morocco, South Africa and Egypt are on the rise, according to Fepex\n<\/p>\n
Proexport said that there are further requirements that exporters must meet, although fewer than had been expected. \u201cSince 2021, most fresh fruit and vegetables must be accompanied by a customs declaration and a certificate of compliance with marketing standards. The UK had indicated that it would require a phytosanitary certificate, which, according to Proexport, would have been a disaster for them and for us, but it has repeatedly withdrawn this requirement,\u201d explaind G\u00f3mez.<\/p>\n
According to Proexport, administrative costs have also risen for both the Murcian exporter and the British importer, and logistics have become more complicated, which increases costs and adversely affects the commercial life of fresh produce. Overall, transport to the UK has become more expensive than to other destinations.<\/p>\n
\nSales of tomatoes, cucumbers, melons and watermelons have fallen by between 34% and 70%, although the UK market remains Spain\u2019s third-largest\n<\/p>\n
In the case of tomatoes, Moroccan competitors have capitalised on the decline in Spanish exports. Their sales have risen by 157 per cent, reaching 126,203 tonnes (more than double that of Spain), although even before Brexit there was already a favourable trend for the North African country due to the advantageous treatment it receives from the EU. Jos\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez, chairman of the Paloma fruit and vegetable group, said that there are now only four tomato-producing companies left in the region of Murcia, compared with the 31 that existed at its peak.<\/p>\n
The effects of Brexit have also been a headache for the logistics and transport sector. Jos\u00e9 Esteban Conesa, CEO of Primafrio, pointed out that the UK has been \u201craining fines down on all non-British lorries”. “For the most ridiculous of reasons, they\u2019ll slap you with a fine of 500 or 600 pounds,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\nThe field is open to competitors\n<\/p>\n
Fepex, chaired by Cecilio Peregr\u00edn, has analysed the last ten years to highlight the decline in Spanish export volumes: between 2016 and 2025, these fell from 1.55 to 1.29 million; whilst the value has increased by 29.5 per cent, from 1,753 to 2,270 million euros. Turnover growth over the last five years stood at 8.1 per cent. \u201cThis trend shows that the UK remains the third-largest destination for Spanish fruit and vegetable exports, after Germany and France,\u201d the Fepex analysis said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis points to a scenario of higher selling prices, but also of higher costs and growing competitive pressure, so the increase in value cannot automatically be interpreted as an equivalent improvement in profitability,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Following Brexit, the UK introduced additional requirements to control imports of fruit, vegetables and other fresh produce from the EU, which have been coming into force in phases, resulting in a greater administrative burden and increased costs. <\/p>\n
The new trade framework following Brexit has had a direct impact on the cost structure of the export sector. \u201cThe introduction of certifications and customs procedures has made export operations more expensive. Furthermore, delays and administrative complexity have increased logistics and management costs. Exporting to the UK is more expensive and difficult than it was before Brexit,\u201d stated Fepex.<\/p>\n
Proexport: “Morocco, Turkey and Egypt are gaining ground at our expense”<\/p>\n
\n\u201cOur main concern is that, since Brexit, British importers and supermarkets have been turning increasingly to non-EU suppliers of fruit and vegetables, and particularly to competitors with labour and regulatory costs that are much lower than those in Murcia and Spain. Products from Morocco, Turkey and Egypt are gaining ground at our expense. You only have to look at the trend in import figures for tomatoes, table grapes and citrus fruits to realise this,\u201d said Fernando G\u00f3mez, managing director of Proexport. This organisation does not blame Brexit alone. It points directly to the \u201cserious competitiveness problems facing the sector\u201d. It points to \u201cthe harsh restrictions and additional costs imposed by European over-regulation \u2013 and, in particular, Spanish over-regulation \u2013 which makes it difficult for Spanish farmers to farm profitably and ultimately drives up prices for consumers\u201d. It also cites rising labour costs and a highly restrictive phytosanitary policy for the agricultural sector. \u201cSpain was more competitive when the UK was part of the EU, and it is now clear that we are not as competitive. Either we change soon, or we will leave the field open to the competition.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Over the last five years, there has been a sharp 26 per cent fall in the total value…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1064178,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5226],"tags":[5176,802,748,3583,2000,299,5187,1699,1214,5703,4884,7766,8639,107048,263780,5598,16,15,32652],"class_list":["post-1064177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brexit","tag-and","tag-brexit","tag-britain","tag-decline","tag-eu","tag-europe","tag-european","tag-european-union","tag-exports","tag-fruit","tag-great-britain","tag-have","tag-result","tag-sharp","tag-suffered","tag-the","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-vegetable"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116851570742192011","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1064177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1064177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1064177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1064178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1064177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1064177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1064177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}