Spanish government committed to strengthening trade between Europe and Africa

Luis Planas, the Spanish Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, has defended the convenience of strengthening the commercial association in agri-food matters between the European Union and the African Union (AU), after the current pandemic highlighted the importance of maintaining open international markets to strengthen supply chains.

Planas stated that there is much room for the growth of trade between the two continents in both directions. The Last year, the EU exported € 184,3 million worth of agri-food products to Africa, having a positive trade balance of 62 million euros. European agri-food exports to Africa barely represent 9,4% of the total, which in the case of Spain drops to 3,6%. The EU countries are the destination of 15,2% of African exports, and in Spain they represent 8,7%.

Maintaining trade flows has been key, the minister told blueberriesconsulting.com, for the resistance of the agri-food sector to the pandemic, and international agreements should serve as a lever for change in the production model. But not at any price.

In order to strengthen these relations with the EU, Planas hopes that countries will advance the development of the African Free Trade Agreement among the 55 African member states of the AU that came into force in 2029.