Spain consolidates its position as Europe's leading country in terms of organic production surface area

Spain thereby consolidated its position as the leader in the EU in terms of organic production surface area, with almost three million hectares, and sixth in the world, according to the report on organic production statistics for 2024, published on the website of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

The document indicates that at the end of 2024, the useful agricultural area used for organic production reached 2,944,941 hectares. Although this is 46,940 hectares less than the previous year, its weight in the total useful agricultural area cultivated in Spain has increased by 2.33 points and now stands at 12.31%, due to the greater decrease in the latter.

The data, compiled by the autonomous communities, are still provisional pending validation by the European agency Eurostat. The reduction of 46,940 hectares of organic production surface area is mainly located in Andalusia, Castile-La Mancha and the Valencian Community.

Within organic vegetable production, the increase in hectares dedicated to tubers and roots (+7.3%), green harvested plants for animal feed (+2.9%), fresh vegetables and strawberries (+1.2%) stands out.

Internationally, studies show that Spain is the world's largest producer of organic olives and grapes, and the world's third largest producer of organic citrus fruits.

Organic livestock activities

In terms of animal production, organic livestock farming activities increased by 0.5% in 2024 compared to the previous year, to 11,164. Of particular note are the increases in equines (+17.5%), goats for meat (+8.7%) and sheep (+3.3%). The report also points out that the number of livestock increased by 3.9% compared to the previous year, a rise led by goats (+7.6%) and horses (+6.3%).

Organic aquaculture decreased by 26.28% to 3,175 tonnes in 2024. The decrease in production of sturgeons (-66.7%) and mussels (-28.3%) stands out. However, oyster production increased by 45.4%.

The number of organic operators registered in 2024 was 62,621, 2.8% less than the previous year. The total number of activities also fell by 2.6% to 66,687 in total.

In terms of registered organic industrial activities, there was also a decrease of 3.4% to 11,498 in those related to both plant and animal production.

The National Food Strategy stresses the importance of promoting the organic sector as a key commitment to preserve biodiversity and protect the environment in the national agricultural sector.

The varied offer of organic food in Spain, the result of the diversity of soil, climate and culture, is a unique added value to the Mediterranean diet, recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Non official translation