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During his visit to the SIAL B2B food and beverage expo in Shanghai on May 23, Spain's Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Luis Planas, emphasized the importance of updating Chinese import protocols to facilitate increased exports of Spanish food products, particularly seafood, in a bid to address Spain's trade deficit. Planas held meetings in Beijing with China Customs Head Yu Jianhua and China Agriculture Vice Minister Ma Youxiang to discuss the expansion of market access for Spanish wild-caught seafood, certain aquaculture products, and fishmeal for animal feed into China.
Acknowledging the positive technical relations between Spain and China, Planas highlighted recent protocols signed by China to enhance import processes for Spanish olive paste, pet food, fodder oats, almonds, and persimmons.
Despite a 19.4 percent year-over-year increase in Spain's food exports to China in 2023, totaling EUR 1.8 billion (USD 2 million), concerns persist within the Spanish government regarding the widening trade deficit with China, particularly amid escalating tensions between key EU and Chinese stakeholders over trade matters.
While China's state-run Kaichuang has made investments in the Albo Spanish seafood group, the expansion of the Chinese distant-water fleet has raised apprehensions among Spanish fishing firms, who view China as a direct competitor in North and West African waters.
Javier Garat, head of the Spanish fisheries industry body Cepesca, cautioned against perceived strategic agreements between China and Russia in fisheries, which could potentially bring Chinese vessels closer to the European Union in the Barents Sea. He also expressed concerns over the legitimacy of fishing operations conducted by Chinese vessels in the Southwest Atlantic, an area traditionally active for Spanish vessels.
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