In Spain, as evidenced by the 2020 Economic Report of the Spanish Federation of Food and Beverage Industries (FIAB), the food and beverage sector has shown great resilience to the impact of the pandemic, demonstrating that it can lead change for the economic and social recovery of the country. The real production of the sector, despite being affected by the tourism blockade, amounted to 129,854 million euros with a decrease of -5.3% compared to 2019, lower than that of the Spanish economy as a whole (-11%). On the other hand, household consumption increased sharply, which for confinement measures recorded a rebound of 16.15% with an average per capita expenditure of approximately 1,610 euros.

As for the impact on the business fabric, 200 companies were lost in 2020 compared to 2019. The losses occur mainly in the small business segment, although the weight of SMEs remains 96% of the entire sector. On the other hand, there are 21 new large companies, 5 of which with over 1,000 employees. Great efforts have also been made in the field of work, since with 431,800 direct workers, employment in the food sector marked a decrease of 1.1% which therefore remains lower than that of the manufacturing industry (-2.2%). and the total economy (-2.2%).

Spanish exports of the food and beverage sector in 2020 showed an increase of 4.4% compared to the previous year, having reached 33,945 million euros; growth supported in particular by Chinese demand for meat products. Furthermore, following the pandemic, the trade balance in Spain's favor stood at € 12,608 million, a considerable increase driven by the decline in imports.

The EU, led in first place by France, remains the main destination of Spanish exports (54.9%) followed by China, the United Kingdom and the United States.