Spain produces peppers, but 95% of those it imports come from Morocco

Between January and June 2026, Spanish companies imported 83.34 million kilos of peppers. Of this volume, 79.01 million kilos came from Morocco, representing precisely 94.81% of purchases made abroad.

These Moroccan peppers represented an expenditure of 116.33 million euros for Spanish importers. Their average price stood at 1.47 euros per kilo, according to an analysis by Hortoinfo based on Estacom statistics from ICEX and the Spanish tax administration.

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Morocco’s growth has been spectacular over ten years. In the first half of 2017, Spain had bought 33.74 million kilos of peppers from Morocco. Nine years later, these imports reached 79.01 million kilos, an increase of more than 134%.

The value of purchases followed the same trajectory. It rose from 46.86 million euros in 2017 to more than 116 million euros this year. The average price paid for Moroccan peppers, meanwhile, increased more moderately, from 1.39 to 1.47 euros per kilo.

France and Portugal far behind

No other supplier comes close to Morocco. France ranks second with only 1.13 million kilos, or 1.36% of Spanish imports. This volume fell by nearly 29% compared with 2017.

Portugal ranks third with 941 033 kilos, representing 1.13% of the total. Portuguese peppers were nevertheless purchased at a significantly higher price, at 2.11 euros per kilo, compared with 1.47 euros for Moroccan products.

This dominance of imports does not mean that 95% of the peppers consumed in Spain come from Morocco. The percentage concerns only the volumes purchased abroad. Spain still has considerable domestic production and itself exports this vegetable on a massive scale.

According to figures published by the Spanish Federation of Fruit and Vegetable Producers and Exporters, it exported 415 037 tonnes of peppers during the first five months of 2026, a volume stable compared with the previous year.

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The paradox is therefore mainly commercial: Spain sells a large share of its own peppers abroad while meeting almost all of its import needs through Morocco. A situation that confirms the position now occupied by Moroccan agricultural products on the Spanish market.