(EUROPA PRESS)// Seven out of every ten fruit and vegetables produced in Murcia are destined for exportation, according to sources from the Regional Council.  In 2011 the United Kingdom was the principal destination for regional production, followed by Germany, France and Italy, while the United States and Switzerland are the principal non-EU countries to consume products from Murcia.

In this new edition of the Fruit Logistica trade fair over fifty regional companies are taking part which represents 70 per cent of the volume of fruit and vegetable exports, according to the Counsellor for Agriculture and Water, Antonio Cerdá, who, together with the counsellor for Universities, Companies and Research, José Ballesta, today accompanied the professionals of the sector who travelled to the German capital.

The Head of Agriculture highlighted that Spain is the principal exporter of these products, followed by the Netherlands and the United States, and emphasized that “our produce is safe, healthy and of great quality”.

Cerdá pointed out that ‘Fruit Logistica’ is a “trade fair par excellence” for fruit and vegetable produce and underlined that this exhibition “seeks to measure the degree of satisfaction” of regional products in the European Market.

Along these lines, counsellor José Ballesta indicated that business people in the Region are encouraged with how the fair is going, as they had “closed the first day with a large quantity of commercial operations” which, according to the counsellor, are due in part to the fact that “the products presented at the fair this year stand out for their innovation and have nothing to do with those exhibited during previous editions”.

Increase in fruit and vegetable exports

“Murcia has great exportation capacity”, underlined the Counsellor for Agriculture, who pointed our that exports in the sector had risen to three thousand million euros in 2011, which represented an increase of 6,7 per cent in relation to the previous year.

In addition, the exportation of fruit and vegetables from Murcia represent 20 per cent of the national total.   Citrus fruits, melon, watermelon, peaches and nectarines are the fruits most in demand in these countries, and lettuce, tomato, pepper, potato, broccoli and cauliflower are the vegetables most widely exported to these international markets.

The Agriculture chief stressed that during these three days companies and cooperatives of Murcia “will destine their efforts to ensuring a greater international presence, extending their commercial contacts and positioning their products within the top places”.

In order to do so, “business people in the Region have based their entire business power on two principal aspects, on the one hand the innovation of their products and, on the other, internationalization.  Which makes them a business model to follow within the business framework of Murcia”, explained José Ballesta.

The Community has a stand with co-exhibitors Apoexpa, Proexport, Grupo Hortiberia, Fecoam, the Regulating Council of the Jumilla Pear and the financial entities Cajamurcia-BMN and Cajamar, while other companies from Murcia participate with their own stands.

Over the course of these few days ‘Fruit Logistica’ hosts over 130 countries belonging to the fresh produce chain and receives close to 53.000 visits a day.