Spain's exports to China hit record high in 2016: report

MADRID - Spain's exports to China hit a record high in 2016 with 5.03 billion euros ($5.43 billion), Spanish news agency EFE reported on Friday.

Spanish exports to China increased by 14.8 percent in 2016 year-on-year, hitting a record high of 5.03 billion euros, according to data from the ICEX (the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade).

The rise was led by the agri-food industry, whose exports rose by 58 percent in 2016 when compared with the previous year, especially because of pork exports, as well as beer, olive oil and wine shipping.

Exports of pork products rose by 80 percent last year to 700 million euros with a total of 420,000 tons of pork products shipped to the Asian country.

Meanwhile, exports of olive oil rose by 14 percent in 2016 year-on-year, those of wine increased by 23 percent and those of beer rose by 45 percent, according to the report.