Agriculture is a major part of the Spanish economy and, along with forestry and fishing, employs around 7% of the labour force. The sector in total accounts for around 3% of the country’s GDP.

After France, Spain dedicates the second largest land area in the EU to agriculture (24.9m hectares). This represents around 15% of the total EU agricultural area. Democratisation of the country, accession to the European Union and enhanced levels of mechanisation and modernisation have contributed to higher productivity and efficiency at farm level.

Spain’s two main agricultural products are grapes, used to make wine, and olives, used to make olive oil. Other main products include oranges, almonds, cereal grains (especially barley, wheat and rice), vegetables (especially tomatoes and onions) and root crops (mainly potatoes and sugar beet).

The raising of livestock, especially sheep and goats, is also an important industry. Livestock on farms includes about 24 million sheep, 23 million pigs, 6 million cattle, and 250,000 horses.

unemployment issues

Described in 2008, as the “most dynamic” economy within the EU, the global financial crisis brought the Spanish economy into a severe downtown which has seen the country enter its fifth year of recession.

The economic downturn and the austerity programme has also seen unemployment rate skyrocket to 25-26% at 5.9 million, more than three times the jobless rate clocked in 2007. This equate to about one in three of all jobless people across the EU. More alarmingly, youth unemployment is running at over 50%.

Economic crisis, rising unemployment, and inflation above the EU average has resulted in less real disposable income for household spending. This is having an impact on all aspects of Spanish life, including household dietary choices, which will in turn have a knock on effect on agricultural trade in the region. For instance, from an Irish perspective, the fall in beef consumption in Spain by 5% in the first nine months of the year has resulted in a fall in Irish beef exports to Spain.

Agricultural Exports

As a sector, agriculture is mainly focused on the export market, with around 95% of Spanish agricultural and livestock produce exported (valued at €38.5bn), accounting for 5% of all Spanish exports. Spain is the eighth largest exporter of agri-food products worldwide and the fourth in the European Union (EU). Over the past few years, agricultural exports have seen a continued rise, with 2012 exports 10% ahead of 2011.

Indeed, a continued rise in agricultural exports is likely as new markets outside the EU are developed and, more importantly, the EU continues on its economic recovery. The top three products exported are wine, pork and olive oil.

Farm Profile

There are 989,800 farm holdings in Spain, which is down 23% compared to a decade ago. Average farm size is 24ha, with olive production the most common farm enterprise at 23% of total numbers, followed by fruits and citrus fruits at 16% and the production of cereals, oilseed and protein crops representing 13%.

Nearly half of the agricultural holdings in Spain have less than 5ha and occupy less than 5% of the total Spanish agricultural area. The majority (60%) of these farms are owned and work by farmers and the uptake of other succession farming options such as shared farming, or other modes of tenure have been quite small in Spain.

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS

Wine: Spain holds the largest wine producing area in the world, with vineyards covering around 1m hectares. In 2012 Spain produced 39m hectolitres, accounting for 22% of all EU wine. Of the wine producing area, 53% is planted with red grapes, 45% is white grapes and the rest of the land is mixed. The Castile region in central Spain is the recognised home of Spanish wine, with nearly half of the wine produced there.

Pork: Pork is the most important livestock sector in Spain. Spain is the third largest exporter of pork in the EU, behind Germany and Denmark. Key export markets in the EU include France, Italy and Portugal, while Russia is the main market outside the EU. 3.5m tonnes were produced in 2012, around 16% of total EU output, with exports amounting to 3.1m tonnes. Production is concentrated in Catalonia in north east Spain.

Olive oil: At more than 40% of the world’s production, Spain is the largest producer of olive oil in the world, with around 300m olive trees in an area of 2m hectares. Production is increasing year on year and current level is at record high of 1.6m tonnes (2012), with exports rising in line with production. Spain is the principal global exporter of olive oil. Most of the olive oil production is in Andalucia (80%) in the south.

Citrus fruits: Spain is the largest producer in the EU and the leading world exporter of citrus fruits, comprising oranges, mandarins and lemons. Annual production totals 5.7m tonnes of citrus fruit from a planted area of around 330,900 hectares. Around 60% of the volume is produced in Valencia in east Spain. Oranges are the most common citrus planted in Spain (52%) followed by mandarins (38%).

Horticultural produce: In recent time, Spain has become a leading exporter of horticultural produce. The area planted with vegetables is around 330,000ha, with most of the land (95%) having some form of irrigation. The most important vegetables are tomatoes (17% of total area), lettuce (10%) and melons (9%). The vast majority of exports are to other EU countries due to the shelf-life of this produce.