Spanish agriculture is already feeling the impact. At the end of January, the average price of agricultural diesel stood at €0.950 per litre. By 7 September, it had reached €1.405, almost 48% higher in just seven months. Farmers are already preparing the first protest marches.
But tractor diesel is only the beginning. Then comes the lorry transporting produce to the packing facility. The plant that cools, grades, handles and stores the product. Packaging materials. Another lorry to the port or the supermarket. And, in the case of maritime exports, a refrigerated container that must maintain the cold chain over thousands of kilometres.
The pressure continues to build, unwanted inflation rises, interest rates are pushed upwards, and fruit and vegetables — along with other food products — become more expensive.
The epicentre is thousands of kilometres away from our fields, but its consequences reach them directly. Shipping traffic remains well below normal levels, and alternative energy routes are not immune either. Houthi attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure and the East-West Pipeline have added another layer of uncertainty to a map where Bab el-Mandeb and the Red Sea remain critical hotspots.
Asia is getting much further away
For years, the need to diversify markets and look towards Asia has been emphasised. This remains necessary. China, India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia represent opportunities that the Spanish sector cannot ignore.
However, today, exporting Spanish fruit to Asia has become an increasingly expensive obstacle course. It is therefore unsurprising that Asia continues to represent only a small share of Spanish fruit and vegetable sales.
In 2025, Spain exported just 1,784 tonnes to China, while Saudi Arabia received 21,113 tonnes and the United Arab Emirates 13,621 tonnes. The European Union accounted for 84% of Spain’s fruit and vegetable export volume, while non-EU non-European markets represented only 2.3%.
Europe is not only our natural market. At times like this, it is also our safe-haven market.
