According to the website of Spanish newspaper Abesai on December 7th, Spain is preparing to ship the first batch of its own almonds to China, with an expected shipment of 15 containers.
Rafael Sanchez de Puerta, the general manager of Dcoop in Spain, stated in an interview with the Abesai newspaper that containers are currently being prepared to transport products to China as soon as possible.
The report states that the shipment of Spanish almonds to China is a milestone in international trade. In March of this year, during the visit of Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez to China, the two governments reached an agreement on Spain's export of almonds and persimmons to China.
According to the news released by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture at the time, the negotiation of the Spanish almond export document to China began in October 2017. Since then, the department has conducted a series of technical information exchange work with the General Administration of Customs of China, and finally signed an export quarantine agreement.
The report states that for the Spanish government, reaching an export quarantine agreement with China to allow the export of almonds (and persimmons) to China is aimed at responding to the strong interest of Spanish almond production companies in importing their products into the Chinese market. "In the strategy of expanding almond production, China is an important target. It is estimated that approximately 50000 tons of almonds will be exported to China by 2025," said the Spanish agricultural department.
This export opportunity will benefit this crop, which is found in almost all regions of Spain, especially in the autonomous region of Andalusia.
Currently, only Dcoop from Andalusia and one company from Catalonia publicly stated in November that they have obtained authorization to export almonds to China.
The report states that Dcoop's goal is to sell more and more products overseas. "We are working hard to ensure that the sales of Spanish almonds in the international market are increasing," said Sanchez de Puerta.
He pointed out that Spanish almonds face fierce competition from California almonds in the United States.
