Spanish confectionery exports grow significantly

The meeting gathered around 100 professionals and was considered very interesting and productive by all of them. In this context, Produlce presented the Produlce 2015 Report, a document which collects the main industry´s economic data during 2014. These data served to explain why the confectionery industry is the seventh sector in terms of turnover within the Spanish food and drink industry as a whole and the fifth in terms of exports.

During 2014, the Spanish chocolate, biscuit & confectionery industry (sugar confectionery and chewing gum, cocoa and chocolate, fine bakery wares, turron/nougat and marzipans) saw its sales volume grow by 2.6% up to 1.303 m tonnes and its value by 1.1% up to € 4.485 bn. The domestic market has decreased by 1.1% in value (€ 3.333 bn) and 1.5% in volume (852,050 tonnes). Exports are responsible of the industry´s growth during 2014, both in terms of value (+ 7.9%, reaching € 1.151 bn) and volume (+ 11.4%, reaching 451,710 tonnes). 34.6% of the total volume produced in Spain was exported (compared to 32.1% in 2013).

The “Sweet Summit” was held the same day as Produlce’s General Assembly. This Assembly ratified the new Executive Committee of the association, as well as its new president, who will be in charge of Produlce from July 2015 to July 2017. Olga Martínez, Senior Manager Corporate Affairs of Wrigley (a subsidiary of Mars Inc.), was reelected for President of the association, assuming this challenge "with a huge desire to continue working for and because of the entire sector. My objectives for these next two years are to gain visibility as the reference voice of the sector and to increase our representativeness".