Video: @fruitattraction_, @agrosuareez / IG
Catalan delegation promotes fruit and veg exports
Prodeca, the agency for Catalan food promotion, is coordinating a group of 29 companies and entities within the Catalonia Space at Fruit Attraction 2026, held at IFEMA Madrid from 6 to 8 October. A total of 93 Catalan firms and organisations from the horticultural sector are attending the event, aiming to strengthen international trade links and showcase high-quality local produce. The fair serves as one of the world’s leading commercial hubs for fruit and vegetable trade. The previous edition hosted 2,201 exhibitors from 59 countries and welcomed over 117,000 professionals from 145 nations, creating direct opportunities between producers, distributors and global buyers.
Strong export performance continues
Catalonia remains Spain’s top fruit-producing autonomous community, generating around one million tonnes annually. It accounts for more than half of national apple and pear output, and between 30% and 35% of peach and nectarine production. From January to June 2026, Catalan firms exported 312,138 tonnes of fruit worth €518.93 million, almost unchanged from the same period in 2025, with a 0.47% decrease in both value and volume. Combined fruit and vegetable exports reached 452,756 tonnes valued at €703.16 million, showing a 0.51% rise in value but a 1.92% drop in volume. Between 2020 and 2025, Catalan fruit exports grew 41.51% in value while volume increased just 0.95%, reflecting a significant rise in unit value, according to Prodeca's 2025 agri-food export report.
Innovation to combat climate change
At the fair, the ADORE programme was presented, a new global premium apple initiative developed through over two decades of research by the Hot Climate Partnership. This includes the Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA), part of the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food. ADORE unites climate-resilient apple varieties suited to warmer growing conditions. In Catalonia, 120 hectares are already licensed under the FruitFutur network.
The fruit sector is an exporting pillar of the Catalan agri-food economy.
Lleida leads regional exports
Lleida is Catalonia’s key fruit-exporting region. Between January and June 2026, its companies shipped 82,712 tonnes of fruit worth €137.57 million, 26.5% of the regional total in both volume and value. The area hosted 137 regular fruit exporters in 2025, nearly 35% of the Catalan total. Lleida dominates specific markets: it accounted for 82.68% of Catalonia’s peach exports, 88.91% of nectarine exports, and 65.13% of pear exports in 2025.
Catalan agri-food exports hit a record €16.9 billion in 2025, rising 7.48% in value and 7.95% in volume compared to 2024, according to figures presented by Minister Òscar Ordeig and Prodeca director Dèlia Perpiñà. Fruit and vegetables ranked third among agri-food export sectors by both value and volume.
Reported by viaempresa.cat, PRODECA, m.prodeca.cat, prodeca.cat.
