Spain’s is in the top 5 of the most competitive agri-food sectors in the EU. The 2024 Observatorio Agroalimentario compiled by Cajamar, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, casts a sharp light on the country’s role: the world’s seventh-largest exporter of food and beverages, and the fourth within Europe. At a time when the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is once again up for renegotiation, Spain enters the debate with enviable figures but also with enduring vulnerabilities.
Beeld: © LVVN team Madrid
Photo Caption: Presentation event the 2024 Report of the "Observatory on the Spanish agri-food sector in the European context", on July 8, 2025, Madrid.
Spain recovers and grows after COVID pandemic
The report notes that 2024 was a good year for the sector. The Spanish economy expanded by 2.9% and fully recovered after the COVID pandemic. Unemployment and inflation fell, and the agri-food industry posted a record trade surplus of €48bn. The agri-food sector's contribution to Growth Domestic Product (GDP) was 8.6%, and added value increased by 3.9% compared to last year. Unlike other European countries, the primary sector grew the most in Spain, contributing 12% of the gross added value generated in the entire European Union.
Spain gains competitiveness across Europe
Competitiveness lies at the core of this success. Spanish farms and food processors are among the most cost-efficient in Europe, ranking as the forth after the Netherlands, France and Poland. Largely thanks to low unit labor costs. A paradox emerges: the sector is simultaneously losing employment yet gaining productivity. Workers in the primary sector generate only 60% of the average European output per head, but low labor costs renders Spain one of the EU’s most competitive producers.
Among the European Union, Spain is the main producer of several products: pork meat, with a market share of nearly 24%, fresh fruits (18 %), olive oil (43%), citruses (48%) and olives 69%. Spain ranks second in importance in production fresh vegetables (19%), poultry (14%), plants and flowers (16%). Third in cattle (12%), egg (13%) and barley (16%) and forth in wine (5%), grains (5%) and sugar beetroot (75%). The fruit and vegetable market shares are the reason why Spain has a reputation as Europe’s orchard.
Sectoral dynamics reveal further complexity. Olive oil, an essential Spanish product, continues to be both a strength and a vulnerability. The mix of industrial and artisanal producers makes it sensitive to price shocks. Fruit and vegetables dominate export earnings, while the meat industry faces rising costs and competition. Macro-farms (large-scale livestock operations) remain politically contentious, adding further uncertainty.
Beeld: © LVVN team Madrid
Photo Caption: Presentation of the 2024 Report of the "Observatory on the Spanish agri-food sector in the European context". From left to right:, Joaquín Maudos the deputy director of research at the Valencian Institute of Economic Research (IVIE) and coordinator of the report; Ana Rodríguez, the secretary general of Agricultural Resources and Food Security of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food; Eduardo Baamonde, President of Cajamar, name undisclosed, and the director of studies and publications at the Cajamar Group Foundation, Ignacio Atance.
Spain stands strong in a complex international trade, but there is room for improvement
Spain’s agri-food influence is not confined to the domestic arena. International trade remains a strategic battleground. Negotiations with the United States are fraught, the Mercosur deal is stalled, and a new agreement with Ukraine has been suspended. Madrid insists it will defend national producers “until the last minute”. In a recent meeting with 24 Spanish agricultural and producers organizations the Spanish government assured its willingness to improve their competitiveness and internationalization process in the context of global trade uncertainties.
Still, innovation is where Spain risks being left behind. While digitalization is trumpeted as the “second D” in R&D+D (research, development and digitalization), investment remains low. Spending on agri-food innovation has fallen by 3% in relative terms, leaving a 31% gap between what the sector generates and what it invests in its future. For a country competing not only with European giants like Italy and France but increasingly with global challengers, that deficit offers opportunities to improve.
The CAP negotiations will test Spain’s ability to reconcile its dual role: agricultural powerhouse and a socially vulnerable sector. Madrid is expected to argue for a model that privileges competitiveness while protecting family farms. That tension, between scaling up and holding on to family farms, has long defined the Spanish countryside. For now, the balance sheet looks positive: rising exports and low inflation in food prices. For Brussels and Madrid alike, the next eighteen months of policy wrangling will be decisive.
Source: 2024 Observatorio Agroalimentario (Agrifood Observatory)