The agency Andalucía TRADE, in its commitment to the internationalization of Andalusian companies, organized an ambitious trade mission which included more than a hundred business meetings for the 11 participating firms. 69th Summer Fancy Food, held from June 29 to July 1 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York, brought together more than 2.200 exhibitors from 59 countries and more than 30.000 visitors, offering an ideal setting for establishing contacts with customers, importers and distributors.
The commercial program culminated with a meeting at the Spanish Trade Office in New York and visits to various retail outlets in the city, reinforcing the expansion strategy in a demanding and dynamic market. According to data from the ICEX - Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade, American market shows a high interest in Spanish products and the Spain brand, despite tariff uncertainty.
In 2024, Andalucía TRADE carried out a total of 47 promotional activities in the United States, with the participation of 181 companies, representing 84% of the sector's regular exporters to this country. This underscores the great value that Andalusian companies find in these internationalization strategies. Summer Fancy Food, an event organized since 1954 by The Specialty Food Association, is a strategic biannual event that, in its summer edition, covers the East Coast market, while the winter edition focuses on the West Coast.
The Andalusian companies participating in this edition include Oleo Almanzora and Industrias Diego Molina from Almería; Aceites Naturales del Sur-Ands, Cielo y Tierra Olive, and Pago de Espejo from Jaén; Vinagres de Yema from Cádiz; Tostaderos Sol de Alba from Granada; and Oleoestepa, Landaluz, Casa Santoña from Andalusia, and Migasa Aceites from Seville. All of them received support from the Business Promotion Office in New York, part of the Andalusia TRADE International Network. Andalusia TRADE's participation in this fair was co-financed with funds from the Andalusian ERDF Operational Program 2021-2027, with an EU contribution of 85%.
The specialty food market in the United States is considerable, reaching an annual volume of $194.000 billion, of which $159.000 billion corresponds to the retail channel, highlighting the importance of events like Fancy Food.
In 2024, the agency promoted actions to strengthen the presence of Andalusian food in the US, with the participation of 181 companies, equivalent to 84% of the sector's regular exporters.
US: Record Exports in 2024
Andalusia consolidated its leadership in food and beverage exports to the United States in 2024, with sales totaling €1.354 billion. This figure represents 40% of total Spanish exports to this destination (€3.508 billion) and represents a year-on-year growth of 40%, exceeding the national average (18%) by 22 points. This milestone makes the United States the largest non-European market and the fifth largest worldwide for the Andalusian agri-food sector.
In the first four months of the year, Andalusia maintains its leadership position, accounting for 38% of the national total with €428 million in sales. Despite a slight 8,6% decrease in value, mainly attributable to the fall in the price of olive oil, the volume of Andalusian exports to the United States grew by 12,6%, reaching 96.800 tons.
Olive oil remained the star product, with a 50% increase to €860 million, representing 64% of total Andalusian sales to the country. This was followed by fruit and vegetable preparations, with €175 million and a 29,7% increase; cereal-based preparations (€38 million and a 30% increase); and fish and shellfish (€37 million and a 2,6% increase).
Seville leads sales and Jaén is the fastest growing
In the breakdown by province, Seville led Andalusian agri-food exports to the United States in 2024 with 655 million euros, accounting for 48% of the total and a growth of 58% compared to 2023. It is followed by Malaga, with 248 million euros (18,3% of the total) and an increase of 37%. Cordoba It was ranked third, with 227 million euros (16,8%) and an increase of 19,1%.
Cadiz reached 109 million euros (8,1%), an increase of 13,2%, while Jaén stood out for its greatest growth, recording 52 million euros (3,9% of the total) and an astonishing 113% increase compared to the previous year. Finally, Granada contributed 40 million euros (2,9%) and a rise of 13,5%; Huelva with 11,8 million euros (0,9%) and a fall of 6,6%; and Almería with a similar figure (11,8 million euros) and an increase of 7,2%.
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