The Canary Islands agri-food sector slightly increases its weight in the economy, but loses workers

The agri-food sector slightly increases its weight in the Canary Islands' economy, but its influence on employment decreases, according to the Agri-food Sector Accounts published by the Canary Islands Institute of Statistics (ISTAC).

This sector represents 4.9% of the gross value added of the Canary Islands (GVA) for the last analyzed fiscal year, 2024. This percentage is one tenth higher than that of the previous year. In contrast, the 63,079 people employed in this sector represent 6.7% of the total in the Canary Islands. This percentage is slightly lower than that of the previous year (6.8%) and has maintained a downward trend since 2015.

If we compare the data with that from 2023, the agri-food sector, in terms of gross value added (GVA), registers an increase of 10.7% in the year 2024. This increase has been driven mainly by trade activities (9.8%), the primary sector (15.7%), and the food industry (9%). This is a growth higher than that registered by the total GVA (7.5%), and largely motivated by price growth.

In 2024, in terms of employment, there was a 2.2% increase compared to 2023, with a highlight being the rise in water collection, purification, and distribution activities (12%), followed by canning and packaging activities, which saw a 14% increase. The employment growth rate in the Canary Islands' economy surpassed that registered by the sector, standing at 3.2%.

This publication updates the figures to adjust them to the statistical revision carried out by the National Statistics Institute (INE) in the Regional Accounts of Spain.