Agricultural land is a real estate asset characterized by its stability in terms of value, which has generated average net yields in the last five years of over 2.5% for most types of crops. Of these, greenhouse crops show the highest average unit value among the large groups of crops analyzed: €157,000/hectare.

Rural assets have come into the spotlight of investors in recent years; attracted by the stable value of the land and the potential for improved yields, they are mainly interested in irrigated crops, which are more valuable and profitable, and in large areas with the aim of generating economies of scale and improving the return on investment through intensive and super-intensive farming techniques.

Given that the value of farmland is associated with its yield, the most valued soil corresponds to the irrigated modality, mainly vegetables and citrus, although the last ones (and fruit trees in general) are going through a certain crisis associated with atomization and competition from other countries. The agricultural soils showing the highest compound annual growth rates in the FY2017-FY2022 period are rainfed non-citrus fruit trees (3.6%), rainfed vineyards (2.1%) and irrigated herbaceous crops (2%).

Spain is one of the main agri-food producers within the European Union: 24% of vegetables and 30.4% of fruits are produced in the country, where agriculture contributes 2.3% of the GDP and concentrates 3.2% of the active population. In FY2021, Spanish agri-food exports increased by 11% annually, reaching €60,118 million, the maximum of the historical series in nominal terms.

Agricultural land accounts for one third of Spain’s total surface. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, the predominant crops are, in this order: i) herbaceous (cereals, industrial plants, fodder plants, tubers and legumes); ii) olive groves; non-citrus fruit trees (stone/peach, tropical and nuts); vineyards; citrus; vegetables/greenhouses; and iii) meadows/pastures.

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