Planas has appealed to "foreign intelligence", that is, to know more and better what competitors are doing, to improve the competitiveness of the Spanish agri-food sector. And that will be one of the great challenges for the future of the sector along with innovation and the need for concentration of supply.

In this sense, he pointed out that although Spain is a country with a great export vocation, it is necessary to concentrate supply and improve market positions. The value of agri-food production exceeds 100,000 million euros, more than half of which is exported.

"We are great," recalled the minister, who added that Spain is the eighth largest agrifood exporter in the world and the fourth in the European Union, but "we must organize more and better" to concentrate supply and be present in foreign markets .

In this regard, he commented that, despite the cooperative strength in Spain "none of its cooperatives is among the top 50 in Europe."

Another challenge is R & D & I, "one of the keys to the future" to move towards more environmentally friendly productions, according to the minister. Sustainability, which society demandsMinistry of Agriculture, Fisheries and FoodAnd the quality of the productions are a "differential element" that will make Spanish agri-food products more competitive compared to those of emerging countries for the future.

Spain is favorable to trade agreements, such as CETA (European Union-Canada) or that of the European Union with Japan, of which "we have been net beneficiaries," said Planas. In the case of Canada in just two years, Spanish exports have increased by 33%, those of olive oil have multiplied by four and fruit and vegetable by two.

In reference to Mercosur, it has "risks and possibilities", but it is a strategic market, in which the challenges must be turned into opportunities. According to the minister, Spain's agri-food trade balance with all the countries in the block is deficit, of 2,800 million euros. So, Planas has emphasized, everything that will come in the future will be a rebalancing. It is a market of 350 million inhabitants, of which 55 million are Spanish speakers.



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