Lucrative China-Spain almond deal boosts industry and employment

The history of the humble almond goes back a long way.

For millennia, people have believed in their healthy properties and even China's Empresses drank almond tea to help keep their skin fresh and young-looking.

In modern China you'll find them in Cantonese soup, almond cookies and in many other dishes across the country.

Who is the biggest producer of almonds?

While the United States may be the biggest almond producer in the world, harvesting over two million tons a year, Spain is second on that list with an advantage that its varieties are arguably sweeter and higher in healthy fats and nutrients than their Californian counterparts.

Locals in Cordoba, southern Spain, call them "little olive oil drops" and swear that eating them makes you a happier person.

A new deal brokered this year allows almonds to be sold shelled and in bulk to China from Spain. 

More than 50,000 tons of almonds will make their way to China from 2024 - enough to fill at least 1,700 shipping containers. 

It's a landmark agreement and a huge boost for Spain's important agri-food industry.

The deal was brokered when Chinese President Xi Jinping invited Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to Beijing in March 2023, as both leaders discussed key bilateral issues.

Sanchez said that this deal would "represent a 40 percent increase in its entire production, with territories such as Andalusia, Aragon, Castilla la Mancha and Valencia all benefiting from this agreement."

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"Huge for us" 

DCoop is an Andalusian company responsible for around 10 percent of Spain's entire almond production and has been tasked with organizing the first shipment of almonds to China.

"Obviously this is huge for us," Dcoop's Industrial Director Vicente Fernandez, told CGTN. "We're talking about 50,000 tons of almonds that we can now sell in China for the first time."

It's a deal that will see exportation grow to 90,000 tons within the decade. 

The Dcoop almond processing plant is based in Villarrubia, Cordoba and has the biggest almond storehouse in Europe. This new deal means positive news too for employment in a region that really needs it.

"We started this project in 2019 with six people in the factory," continues Fernandez. "Today we employ 40." 

He continued: "The almond brings a lot to our rural areas, from the farmers to the co-op it helps create wealth, and that's our goal, this is where we come from, and these are our roots."

Spain accounts for around 10 percent of the world's total almond production - the planet's second biggest producer, and this deal with China is set to bring in over 650 million dollars annually from China alone.

Game changer

The key to this latest deal is in the detail. 

Previously, Spanish producers could only sell processed and packaged almonds. Now, they can export entire shipping containers full of shelled nuts. This allows them to compete with the Californian producers.

It's good news in terms of more balanced trade too. Spain buys more goods from China than it does from any other country but the trade imbalance between the two nations weighed-in at around 37 billion dollars in 2022.

This new deal allows almonds and persimmons to be sold in bulk on the Chinese market - a step towards a more reciprocal trade relationship, with China promising to open its markets further to European produce in the future.

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