Import greenhouses veggies from Spain is one of the best options for obtaining fresh fruit and vegetables. Spain is a great exponent of the agricultural area in the entire European region, growing a little more each year since the perception of green and nature has also warned globally. That is why it is necessary for this way that the standards for all products are high, and this is something that the agricultural sector knows perfectly well. In today’s society, organic is more accepted, and greenhouses have become a favorite source of these products due to their production method. It also generates an increase in auxiliary activities and is a source of work for the production areas. On the other hand, new technologies have had to become friendly to the environment and generate products that are as natural as possible without using a lot of chemicals or modification of production to obtain products on a large scale. Greenhouses are a valuable option for obtaining vegetables grown in the best way, and this is one of the options that the Spanish agricultural sector knows very well. Import greenhouses veggies from Spain

The economic impact of greenhouse horticulture in Spain

The economic impact generated by greenhouse horticulture in Spain is notorious, reflecting benefits that stand at half the value of all the vegetables produced in the country, starting at around 2.5 million euros. In addition, Spain is already part of the list of greenhouse vegetable-producing countries, among the first positions. Spain has large extensions of cultivation area that are only surpassed by China and Japan. Its growth also offers more jobs for the production areas and a boom in the sectoral economy. As the area planted increases, a greater quantity of products is also obtained. The increased items are pepper and tomato, with an increase in the tons produced, both now represent half of the greenhouse area. These aspects make its export process feasible to other destinations in Europe as organic products. It is clear that growth also causes better quality; otherwise, the export process would not be efficient.

Spanish fruit and vegetable export index

According to the data reflected by the Spanish Department of Customs and Special Taxes, since 2021, an increase is maintained each year in terms of the export of fresh fruits and vegetables from Spain. The increase in 2021 was 2.6% in volume, also interpreted as an increase of 7.4 in total value. This way, 16.3 million tons were obtained, generating more than 15 million euros. Among vegetables, pepper is the most sold product abroad, and is one of the vegetables with the highest production in the country. It reached figures of more than 850,000 tons, leaving a positive value of 1,270 million euros. The next vegetable in sales order was lettuce, with a balance of 811,703 tons, generating 827 million euros. In this way, it is clear that both products represent great importance in the production of vegetables and fruits in the Spanish region. However, the tomato, which has an extension similar to that of the pepper and is equally important in terms of production, suffered a decline of up to 6% less in exports than the previous year. Tomatoes totaled 662,497 tons in sales, which generated 976 million euros.

Production record in 2021

A record that is important in the importation of greenhouse veggies from Spain, reaffirming the title that the Spanish region has as the «orchard of Europe«. Spain registered 2021 as a record in vegetable production, 1.21 million more than in 2020, an improvement in performance and production. The prevailing vegetables are tomato, pepper, onion, lettuce, and watermelon. Onion stood at 1.45 million tons (1.29 million in 2020); watermelon, with 1.38 million tons (1.23 million in 2020), and lettuce, with 1.06 million tons (961,938 tons in 2020). The diversity in vegetable production defines the Spanish region and highlights it as a producing country. The country has large extensions throughout its territory, outdoors and in greenhouses, rainfed or irrigated. There are 401,711 hectares dedicated to the cultivation of vegetables in 2021 (386,084 in 2020), of which the largest area is concentrated in Andalusia, with 134,939 hectares. 65,177 are concentrated in greenhouses and open-air plots in Almería

Import greenhouses veggies from Spain from the best regions of the country

Of the total area of greenhouses existing in Spain, 53,800 hectares, 88% is dedicated to the cultivation of vegetables. Taking into account crops of the pepper, cucumber, green bean, tomato, eggplant, zucchini, and lettuce. Likewise, fruits such as melon, watermelon, and strawberries. On the other hand, the production of flowers (the main ones being carnations and roses) and ornamental plants remains at 5% of the covered area. Regarding tree cultivation under plastic, the banana is the main one and occupies the rest of the surface. In Spain, greenhouses are concentrated in autonomous communities like Andalucía. Especially taking into account, Almería has the highest concentration of greenhouses in the world. In Spain, agriculture by classical methods has suffered a significant reduction in recent decades. However, thanks to plastic greenhouses, it has managed to expand crop lines. The import of greenhouse veggies from Spain has risen thanks to the use of this technology and its continuous progress. It has made it possible to significantly increase crop productivity and product quality, as well as increase process efficiency and improve working conditions.

Greenhouses in the province of Almería

Almería is one of the largest concentrations of greenhouses in the world. It is in a position in the ranking of provinces that it leads after 20 years of hard work, in terms of economic activity, and all due to its growth in horticulture. Its water use systems and auxiliary industry have made it a world reference site for the production of vegetables. In this province, the efficiency of water use in the production of greenhouse vegetables is five times higher than in the common outdoor production of vegetables. This is mainly due to the application of new technologies in the irrigation systems used, and also to the use made of the water. All this generates a better use of these resources and an increase in its productivity. With all this, there are 25,000 hectares in Almería that produce more than two and a half million tons of vegetables per year. This production generates a value of 1,600 million euros (64,000 euros per hectare).

The success of import greenhouses veggies from Spain

The application of greenhouses as a cultivation method in Spain has been a great success without a doubt. This is due to its abundant and cheap production of high-quality products through the use of resources (water, minerals, and pesticides). All this with high economic efficiency. Agricultural marginal land uses are rapidly being converted to protected crops in many semi-arid areas of the world. This method is used and applied in the hope of improving economic activity, both in the primary and secondary sectors. Greenhouses are complex systems and facilities consisting of different equipment and operational needs. The world changes and in the same way technologies and methods must be changed to adjust to the changes. This is what the evolution of modern irrigation technology is all about, which, from its beginnings as an experimental technique, has become widely used in commercial production. The ability to exercise careful control over the application of water not only allows an improvement in the efficiency of the use of increasingly scarce resources for agriculture, but also allows a more rational use of fertilizers and other agrochemicals.

Economic importance of greenhouses

It is, without a doubt, the most successful model of family farming and one of the main cooperative models in the world. It is important to mention that it has the highest rate of specific training for farmers in Spain. Only in the province of Almería, one of the largest agricultural sectors in the world, winter agriculture directly accounts for 13% of the provincial GDP. This is a very striking fact. The production, handling, and marketing of vegetables, together with the auxiliary industry, together represent 40% of Almería’s GDP.

The climate of Spain in many regions is semi-arid and the use of water and resources must be resolved, for this reason a solution was found in the greenhouses. With the solution, a great economic growth is obtained and a domino in the use of this technology, which improves vegetable greenhouses in Spain.

Benefits of growing in greenhouses

The use of greenhouses minimizes the damage that vegetables or fruits may suffer due to the randomness of natural phenomena. In planting in the open field, climatic changes can represent total losses, which in the case of greenhouses can be controlled.

They also ensure production throughout the year, this is an advantage as they can offer products out of season, with which it is possible to find better markets due to the lack of competition.

Out of season it is easy to sell because the markets are not saturated as is the case in the season of greatest production.

Inside a greenhouse, not only the plants are protected, but also the workers, they are sheltered from the inclement weather of any season. In this way, the efficiency also improves, and the processing performance is better. Among the best ways to obtain quality is to import greenhouses veggies from Spain.