A survey of food companies carried out by the Sigma Dos consultancy on behalf of the Spanish food and drink federation FIAB reveals that there are still a number of key issues which need to be addressed in order to improve exports.
According to a report in the Cinco Dias newspaper, companies believe that a more personalised approach from the export promotional bodies, and a greater emphasis on Spain as a brand in its own right, would give their products a better chance of appealing to foreign consumers.
Although the efforts of national and regional export promotion bodies were largely appreciated by most food companies, the survey found that 49.5 per cent of those questioned were concerned at the lack of co-ordination between these various organisations.
Most companies (71 per cent) agreed that international trade fairs were the best means of publicising their products to buyers from around the world, with 100 per cent of those questioned by Sigma Dos saying they had participated in such events in the past.
Some 80 per cent of the companies questioned had taken part in trade missions organised by the export promotion bodies, while 75 per cent said they had benefited from market studies compiled by these organisations. Product tastings were also popular, used by 73.5 per cent of those questioned.
Around 61 per cent of companies found information about their particular product sector in export markets to be useful.
In contrast, programmes designed to boost brand awareness or help companies target specific regions such as Asia were less useful, with just 16 per cent and 13 per cent of exporters taking advantage of them, according to the survey.
While 60 per cent of those questioned said that the image of Spain as a whole was of benefit to them when exporting products, the majority also said that as a result they found it less useful to exhibit at trade fairs under the banner of the autonomous region in which their products were made - since this simply led to confusion.
Food accounts for 15 per cent of Spanish export revenues, with the majority of exports going to other EU nations. Not surprisingly, then, most companies (51.9 per cent) considered the EU to be the most important market for them, although there was also a growing awareness of the opportunities to be grasped in eastern Europe and Asia, with 51 per cent and 44 per cent of those questioned citing these regions as offering the greatest potential in the future.
But Spanish companies have a lot of work to do if they wish to penetrate these markets. After the EU, the most important for 98 per cent of those companies questioned, the next most popular markets are Latin America with 69.5 per cent and the US with 69 per cent.