Spain's
growing markets
CLIENT FOCUS
Partnering clients in their drive for
growth and supporting them proactively
as they adapt to a changing market are
key elements in our working relations.
Across the network, even amid global eco
nomie slowdown, increased collaboration
between clients, Relationship Managers,
Product Specialists and dedicated
Researchers is helping clients develop
and grow.The Word looks at how this
enhanced cooperation is working for all.
Fresh opportunities
One of the biggest challenges facing many companies
in the Food and Agribusiness (F&A) marketplace
across Europe is to increase their competitiveness. In
Spain, where the market is especially fragmented, con-
solidation is needed urgently in order to compete at
pan-European levels. In the last few years both the F&A
industry and distribution in Spain have undergone a fast
process of concentration, spurred on mainly by consoli-
dation among retailers. Food producers are feeling the
As with many European countries since the Secotid World War, the Spanish economy has undergone a steady transforma-
tion. Until comparatively recently, this was a traditionally agriculture based economy. In the 1960s, it hegan evolving
strongly, giving a greater share ofGDP to manufacturing and, increasingly, services. In the past two decades, services have
come to dominate the economy. The 2001 numbers show services account for almost 66.6 percent of GDP (tourism alone
makes up ahout one tenth ofGDP), industry takes a 21.1 percent share, and agriculture is just 3.6 percent. Although agri
culture no longer contributes significantly to GDP, Spain is actually the largest producer of fresh fruit and vegetables in the
European Union. This product group accounts for more than 15 percent of Spain's exports. This fact, combined with
changes to the nation's food consumption patterns and increased tourism, substantially contributed to the expansion of the
food processing and food service industries, with RI working with Cl clients in the process.
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