Luis Planas meets with US Secretary of Agriculture

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, has held a meeting with the United States Secretary of Agriculture, Thomas J. Vilsack, to discuss issues of bilateral interest in the agri-food sector.

During the meeting, which took place within the framework of the G20 agriculture ministers’ meeting in Florence, both leaders agreed on the importance of closer cooperation in scientific research and technological innovation, in order to move towards greater sustainability of agri-food systems, in terms of security, nutrition and competitiveness.

Both Planas and Vilsack said they valued the need to defend a transition towards sustainable and healthy food systems in the different international forums, which allow the Sustainable Development Goals to be met, while at the same time guaranteeing the productive capacity of farmers and livestock breeders.

The United States is Spain’s most important trading partner outside the European Union, with sales of agri-food products accounting for 18 per cent of total Spanish exports to that market. The agri-food trade balance is positive for Spain by almost 514 million euros, according to 2020 data, with exports worth close to two billion euros (0.3 per cent year-on-year growth) and imports worth around 1.4 billion euros (year-on-year decrease of 11 per cent).

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