Spain could out-export Italy in food and drink by the end of the decade

SPAIN could overtake Italy as the EU’s second largest exporter of food and drink by the end of the decade.

The Spanish Food and Drink Industry Federation (FIAB) said the country registered the highest increase in food and beverage exports of any EU member state, with a growth of 9.4% in 2012.

It is currently the third largest exporter, with France in the top spot.

Spain’s food and drink industry is the largest single industrial sector in the country, employing more than 440,000 people.