“Spanish ports play an essential role in the logistics of fresh products. Thanks to their strategic location, intermodal connectivity, and first-class infrastructure, our ports have established themselves as fundamental logistic nodes to guarantee that fruits and vegetables reach their destination with maximum speed and quality”. With these words, the president of Puertos del Estado, Gustavo Santana, welcomed attendees to the Ports of Spain stand at the Fruit Attraction trade fair.
Puertos del Estado and 16 port authorities are participating from today until October 2nd in what has become the main trade fair in the sector, with the goal of consolidating Spain and its ports as the great logistic platform for the global trade of fresh products. Spanish ports make available to the fruit and vegetable sector almost 100 million m2 of land area and storage areas, close to 2 million m3 in cold storage warehouses, reefer connections, almost 395,000 linear meters of berthing, Border Control Posts (BCP), reinforced after the entry into force of the new model for border control services for goods, phytosanitary services and comprehensive logistic solutions. All of this is backed by the geostrategic position of Spain, the top country in Europe for maritime connectivity, with over 200 international connections.
“Spain is not only an export powerhouse in fruit and vegetable products, but also a privileged logistic hub thanks to its ports. From here, goods can quickly reach the main European and global markets,” highlighted Santana, citing as examples the specific services developed by the ports for temperature-sensitive products, and the state-of-the-art technology in cold systems, traceability and quality control, such as the cold logistic hub in the port of Huelva, presented at the stand.
Decarbonization Strategy
The president also highlighted the commitment of the state-owned port system to its decarbonization strategy—with projects for new fuels, electrical connections to berthed ships (OPS) to reduce emissions and a commitment to offshore wind—and to digital transformation, to improve the efficiency and traceability of the entire transport chain. “Sustainability, digitalization and innovation are the fundamental pillars for improving the competitiveness of the port system in an environment of global uncertainty,” added Santana.
In 2024, Spanish ports moved 11.3 million tons of fruits and vegetables. In the first eight months of 2025, nearly 7 million tons have already been reached, with strong dynamism in traffic with Latin America, North Africa and Europe. With over 2,400 exhibitors from 64 countries and an expected visit of more than 120,000 professionals from 150 countries, Fruit Attraction once again places Madrid as the epicenter of the international fruit and vegetable sector.
At the 215 m2 Ports of Spain stand, led by Puertos del Estado and under the claim ‘Moving the best of nature’, the 16 participating ports (Alicante, Bahía de Algeciras, Bahía de Cádiz, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cartagena, Castellón, Huelva, Las Palmas, Málaga, Motril, Sevilla, Tarragona, Valencia, Vigo and Vilagarcía) will maintain a full agenda of working meetings with international operators during the days of the fair.
