The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, has highlighted Spanish gastronomy as an "absolutely fundamental" element for reinforcing the international projection of Spain's image. He also stressed that the external dissemination of national products also contributes decisively to this objective.
In this regard, he announced that, once the campaign "Spain, the richest country in the world," currently in its final phase, concludes, the Government will launch a new initiative in the autumn to promote Spanish foods under the slogan "Spain tastes." This initiative will be an expanded continuation of this campaign and those developed previously.
Planas made these statements this Wednesday in Santander, during the closing of the meeting "Gastronomy: a strategic asset of the country," held since Monday at the headquarters of the Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo (UIMP). Among others, renowned and prestigious chefs, such as Joan Roca, from the restaurant El Celler de Can Roca, participated in the conference.
During the closing of the course and in his statements to the media, the minister described gastronomy as a "strategic asset." He emphasized that Spain is an "agri-food power" and recalled that 9% of the national GDP (Gross Domestic Product) comes from the agri-food sector, to which he added that it is the main manufacturing export sector of the Spanish economy.