Cajamar has presented the "Observatory of the Spanish Agri-food Sector in the European Context: 2025 Report", prepared by the Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas (Ivie), at an event attended by institutional representatives, experts, and sector stakeholders. Now in its ninth edition, the report offers a systematic, comparative overview of the Spanish agri-food sector's position within the European Union, covering all three links of the value chain.
Cajamar Chairman, Eduardo Baamonde, presented the findings, highlighting the agri-food sector's strategic role. "The data in this report reveal a Spanish agri-food sector with genuine strength: nine out of every hundred euros of value added generated by our economy come from this chain; exports have surpassed €79 billion for the first time; and employment continues to rise. These figures are a source of pride, as they reflect the hard work of the producers, cooperatives, and companies that Cajamar supports every day. They underscore the sector's weight and relevance within our economy," he noted. He also pointed out where work remains to be done: "The productivity gap with our most advanced European partners is not closing, nor is the gap in R&D&i investment, while generational renewal on farms remains an unresolved issue. Understanding these challenges is the first step toward addressing them, and that is where the value of the observatory lies".
The closing remarks were delivered by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, who highlighted the Observatory as a commendable initiative and a highly useful tool for understanding the sector's reality and supporting professionals, companies, and public authorities in their decision-making. He further noted that the report confirms the strength of the data regarding the agri-food sector, a key pillar of the Spanish economy, and offers value beyond mere macroeconomic figures by providing a detailed sectoral and regional analysis; this reveals that certain segments or farms are facing difficulties, thereby helping to guide decision-making processes.
The Minister emphasized that "data strength should not lead to complacency, as the sector faces significant challenges, primarily those stemming from geopolitical uncertainty and climate change, as well as the need for generational renewal". To address these issues, he deemed it "imperative to commit to innovation and digitalization in order to foster tools that help us produce more while using fewer natural resources, such as precision agriculture, more efficient irrigation systems, and new genomic techniques". The Minister also highlighted the excellent collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Cajamar; this partnership has produced both the current observatory and the observatory on agri-food sector digitalization, presented two weeks ago, which led to the launch of a map of digital solutions for agri-food companies.
The event was opened by Roberto García Torrente, Director General of Sustainability and Agri-food Development at BCC-Grupo Cajamar, who underscored the importance of knowledge and analysis in the sector's decision-making processes. "This year marks the ninth edition of the Observatory on the Spanish Agri-food Sector in the European Context, cementing its status as one of the most rigorous and systematic tools for sectoral analysis in our country. For Cajamar, maintaining this commitment year after year is not merely a matter of image, but a matter of deep conviction: the agri-food sector requires high-quality, comparable, and up-to-date information to make better decisions. Continuing to provide this tool to producers, cooperatives, companies, and institutions is an essential part of our *raison d'être* as an entity serving the rural world and the Spanish agri-food supply chain", he noted.
Subsequently, Ignacio Atance, Director of the Research and Publications Service at the Fundación Grupo Cajamar, and Joaquín Maudos, Deputy Director of Research at the Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas (Ivie) and Professor of Economic Analysis Foundations at the University of Valencia, presented the study's key findings, delving into its conclusions and the sector's evolution within the European context. In this regard, Joaquín Maudos explained that "although the agri-food value chain as a whole is more competitive than that of the leading EU-14 countries, this competitiveness is not driven by higher productivity, but rather by lower labor costs. Therefore, the sector's challenge is to boost productivity, which requires narrowing the gap in R&D investment".
Economic weight and production structure
The report confirms that the Spanish agri-food sector remains highly significant to the national economy. In 2025, its gross value added (GVA) reached €137.387 billion, representing 9% of the total and placing Spain at a higher level of specialization than the EU-27 average (6.2%).
This positioning reflects the performance of the entire value chain, with the commercialization segment playing a particularly prominent role; it accounts for a significant share of activity (41% in terms of GVA and 50% in terms of employment). Of particular note in 2025 is the growth of the processing industry, where real GVA rose by 4.5%—a rate well above that of the primary sector and the commercialization segment.
Furthermore, Spain remains a major European agri-food power, contributing 13% of the sector's GVA within the EU-27 and ranking fourth in size across the bloc. Across all three sub-sectors, the share of total GVA is higher in Spain, with the most marked difference found in commercialization (3.7% of total GVA in Spain versus 2.5% in the EU-27).
Employment, social dimension, and demographic challenges
The agri-food sector remains a cornerstone of employment in Spain, employing over 2.6 million people, representing 11.5% of total national employment, a figure that exceeds the EU-27 average of 9.8%.
This strong capacity for job creation places Spain among the leading European economies regarding employment in the sector (ranking third in size and accounting for 11.6% of the sector's jobs across the EU-27), reinforcing its role as a key driver of territorial cohesion, particularly in rural areas.
At the same time, the report identifies significant challenges in this area. Key among these are the aging workforce and the difficulty of ensuring generational renewal, as well as the lower representation of women in certain production activities. These factors highlight the need to attract young talent, improve working conditions, and move toward a sector that is more inclusive and socially balanced.
Competitiveness and international reach
The Observatory highlights the high competitiveness of the Spanish agri-food sector within the European context. In 2025, its labor costs per unit of value added are 18% lower than the EU-27 average, representing a significant advantage. Compared to the leading EU-14 nations, the Spanish sector is also more competitive (by 17%); however, this competitiveness is not driven by productivity (which is 6% lower) but rather by lower labor costs per employee (23% lower). Notably, all three stages of the value chain are more competitive in Spain than in the EU-14 aggregate, particularly the primary sector (36% more competitive).
This competitiveness translates into a strong position in international markets and remarkable dynamism in foreign trade. Exports reached €79.391 billion, a 2.8% increase over 2024, setting a new all-time high and cementing the sector's role as a key driver of Spain's external trade. In fact, Spanish agri-food exports account for 20.1% of the country's total goods exports, the highest such percentage among major European exporters.
In 2025, export growth is driven primarily by an increase in export volume rather than rising prices, demonstrating the sector's structural strength and its ability to maintain market share internationally in an increasingly competitive environment.
Furthermore, Spain holds a prominent position in numerous production subsectors within the European Union, reinforcing its role as a cornerstone of the European agri-food system. Spain is the leading producer of pigs, fresh fruit, olive oil, citrus fruits, table olives, sheep and goats, and grapes within the EU-27.
Sector innovation and challenges
The report highlights that innovation is a key factor in the sector's future development. Although R&D investment has grown in recent years, its level relative to the sector's Gross Value Added (GVA) remains below the European average, specifically, 30% lower, underscoring the scope for improvement.
In this context, driving digitalization, adopting new technologies, and developing innovative solutions will be crucial to boosting productivity and strengthening the sector's competitiveness in the coming years.
In addition to this, the Observatory identifies other significant challenges, notably structural ones (such as the small size of companies and farms or an aging workforce), economic issues (such as improving profitability or attracting labor to the primary sector), and environmental concerns. It also places special emphasis on challenges like digitalization and new technologies as drivers for enhancing competitiveness. In this context, the report suggests the need to analyze the impact that Next Generation EU recovery funds may have had on the agri-food sector.
Furthermore, it highlights geopolitical risks affecting the sector, such as the conflict involving Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, since rising oil and fertilizer prices drive up production costs across the entire value chain. Compounding these direct costs are logistical difficulties and trade route disruptions, which impact both the export of sector products and the import of the raw materials, inputs, and ingredients upon which the sector relies.
Regarding the primary sector specifically, the report highlights particular challenges: generational renewal, the increase in farm size (given that the profitability of large enterprises is more than double that of micro-enterprises), and the improvement of working conditions to retain or attract labor. In this latter regard, there is room to increase labor costs per worker, as the gap relative to the European average—where costs are 36% lower than in the EU-14—is inconsistent with the productivity differential (which is 0.2% higher).
Finally, the report recommends increasing the weight of the food and beverage industry within the overall value chain, noting that its share is currently smaller than that of the primary sector and the commercialization stage, despite it being the segment that generates the highest Gross Value Added (GVA) per employed person. However, the industry needs to boost its productivity to enhance competitiveness, as current levels lag behind those of leading EU-14 nations.
The Cajamar Agri-Food Observatory
The 2025 edition marks the ninth publication of this report, which provides a comprehensive analysis of all activities comprising the agri-food sector's value chain. It offers a complete overview based on up-to-date information, examining key dimensions from multiple perspectives, such as agricultural structure, the business landscape, trends in value added and production, the labor market, productivity and competitiveness, prices, foreign trade, innovation, and the challenges facing the sector.
The document also incorporates an international comparative perspective, allowing Spain's position to be viewed within the European context. This approach is complemented by a comprehensive analysis covering not only the primary sector and the processing industry but also the distribution of agri-food products at both wholesale and retail levels.
The report concludes with a series of specific fact sheets containing detailed information on the main agri-food production subsectors, facilitating a more granular and precise understanding of the sector's structure and performance.
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