What SAB-Almendrave does

SAB-Almendrave (legal name: ALMENDRAVE. Agrupación de Exportadores de Almendra y Avellana de España) is a private non-profit trade association founded in 1947 and headquartered at C/ Diego de León, 54 in Madrid, Spain. It is the official representative body for Spanish almond and hazelnut exporters and producers, claiming to represent 68% of Spain's national almond and hazelnut exportation activity. The organization has held the status of Collaborating Institution of the Spanish Administration since 1987, which authorizes it to negotiate export protocols, co-develop quality standards, and serve as an interlocutor with government and international counterparts. Its primary customer segments are almond and hazelnut exporter companies (e.g., Borges Agricultural & Industrial Nuts, Grupo Unió, Almondo Group, Almendras Utrera) and producer organizations (e.g., Aeofruse, Descalmendra), with a vertical segmentation approach along the value chain.

The association's offerings are services rather than commercial products: sector advocacy, quality and sustainability standards development, market intelligence and harvest forecasting, international trade facilitation, EU-co-financed promotional campaigns, and convening of sector events. Key recent initiatives include the three-year EU co-financed Sustainable Almond campaign executed jointly with Portugal's CNCFS (targeting Germany, France, Spain, and Portugal), the annual 'Encuentro de la Almendra y la Avellana' conference (the XIth edition scheduled for April 29, 2026 in Cuenca), the 2018 Agreement of Quality Standards for the exportation of Spanish almond co-signed with Aeofruse and Descalmendra, and the negotiation of the April 2023 China market access protocol that opened Asian markets to Spanish almonds. The organization also maintains international relationships with the Almond Board of California, the Almond Alliance (USA), and the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service.

Commercially, SAB-Almendrave operates as a non-profit funded by membership fees from associated exporter and producer companies, with supplementary EU co-financing for promotional campaigns. It is governed by a president (Pere Ferré), Director General (Jorge de Saja), and two vice presidents (Gaspar Alapont and Mª José Llopis), operating with a small staff of approximately 5 employees. The business model is therefore a sector-collective model: value capture occurs indirectly through member company export performance rather than direct monetization, and pricing is membership-based rather than transactional. The association is not a software, SaaS, or product company and has no disclosed software products, APIs, or AI/ML capabilities.

Name

SAB-Almendrave

Legal name

ALMENDRAVE. Agrupación de Exportadores de Almendra y Avellana de España

Website

https://almendrave.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SAB-Almendrave is a Spanish non-profit trade association founded in 1947 that represents 68% of Spain's almond and hazelnut export sector, providing quality standards, international market access, and promotional campaigns for its member exporter and producer companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Trade Association

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Business Associations (81391)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Fair Trade & Ethical Supply Chains (Certification, Traceability, Producer Support) (BPAGALAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Technical Committees, Working Groups & Expert Panels (BPADANAB)

Keywords

• Almond exporters association
• Hazelnut industry representation
• Spanish dried fruit trade
• Nut export promotion
• Agricultural quality standards

Headquarters

HQ city

Madrid

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: SAB-Almendrave operates as a non-profit association representing almond and hazelnut exporters. The organization is funded through membership contributions from associated companies, which include exporters and producers in the Spanish almond and hazelnut sector.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SAB-Almendrave is a non-profit trade association that represents Spanish almond and hazelnut exporters, providing industry advocacy, market promotion, quality standards development, and international trade facilitation. Its core activities include the EU co-financed 'Sustainable Almond' promotional campaign, the annual 'Encuentro de la Almendra y la Avellana' sector conference, educational publications, international trade fair participation, and trade missions to open new export markets such as China. The association was established in 1947 and represents 68% of Spain's national almond and hazelnut exportation activity.

Product overview

SAB-Almendrave (Spanish Almond Board - Agrupación de Exportadores de Almendra y Avellana de España) is a trade association representing Spanish almond and hazelnut exporters, established in 1947. The organization does not offer commercial products or software services; rather, it provides industry advocacy, market promotion, sustainability programs, sector events, and publications to its member companies. Key offerings include the 'Sustainable Almond' European promotion campaign (co-funded by the EU with Portugal's CNCFS), the annual 'Encuentro de la Almendra y la Avellana' sector conference, educational publications such as the 'Territorio Almendrave' children's storybook and 75th Anniversary Memorandum, and participation in international trade fairs (SIAL, Gourmets, Fruit Attraction, Anuga).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sustainable Almond EU Campaign A three-year EU co-financed promotional campaign (with Portugal's CNCFS) targeting Germany, France, Spain, and Portugal to promote European almonds as Iberian products. Targeted at consumers and trade stakeholders in the four markets to grow European almond demand.
• Encuentro de la Almendra y la Avellana (Annual Sector Conference) Annual sector conference bringing together 150-220+ professionals from the Spanish almond and hazelnut industry to discuss market trends, production forecasts, and sector challenges. Held annually in different Spanish cities.
• Quality Standards Agreement for Spanish Almond Export Industry-wide agreement signed with Aeofruse and Descalmendra establishing quality standards for Spanish almond exports. Sets the regulatory and quality framework for exporters and hullers in the sector.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully negotiated China market access protocol enabling potential export of 50,000-90,000 tonnes annually
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered moderate, core and minor.

• Almond Alliance (USA)moderateStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 March 2024Meeting hosted at SAB-Almendrave offices with Almond Alliance CEO Aubrey Bettencourt and USDA representatives. Exchange of information on sustainability practices, water management, and regulatory frameworks.
• Tactics EuropecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 15 February 2024Marketing communications agency responsible for implementing the EU promotional campaign for Iberian almonds. Hosts coordination meetings in Madrid.
• IkerfelminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 15 February 2024Evaluation agency participating in the EU campaign review meeting in Brussels, providing campaign performance assessment.
• CNCFS (Centro Nacional de Competências dos Frutos Secos)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 May 2023Portuguese counterpart with whom SAB-Almendrave launched a three-year EU co-financed promotional campaign for European almonds. Campaign targets Germany, France, Portugal, and Spain. Joint presidents: Pere Ferré (SAB-Almendrave) and Albino Bento (CNCFS).
• Aeofruse (Asociación Española de Organizaciones de Productores de Frutos Secos y Algarrobas)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 March 2018Jointly signed the Agreement of Quality Standards for the exportation of Spanish almond on March 6, 2018, together with Descalmendra. Aeofruse represents dried fruit and carob producer organizations.
• Descalmendra (Asociación Nacional de Descascaradores de Almendra)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 March 2018Jointly signed the Agreement of Quality Standards for the exportation of Spanish almond with Aeofruse. Descalmendra represents almond hulling companies.
• ICEX España Exportación e InversionescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSpanish export promotion body that organized the 'Oportunidades para la almendra en China' seminar with the Commercial Office in Beijing, supporting market entry for Spanish almonds into China.
• Almond Board of CaliforniamoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegular bilateral meetings between SAB-Almendrave and ABC leadership. Exchange of market information, production forecasts, and discussion of global almond sector challenges. Most recent meeting in May 2026 in Madrid.
• USDA Foreign Agricultural ServiceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUS agricultural agency represented in Spain and Portugal, participating in joint meetings with SAB-Almendrave and Almond Alliance on global almond market issues.
• Gansu Province Importers (China)moderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerBusiness delegation from Gansu province, China, meeting with SAB-Almendrave following the opening of Chinese market to Spanish almonds. Gansu Chamber of Commerce in Spain awarded corporate membership to Almendrave.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• DESCALMENDRA (Asociación Nacional de Descascaradores de Almendra): Spanish association of almond hulling companies. Direct peer: co-signed the 2018 Quality Standards Agreement with SAB-Almendrave and AEOFRUSE, representing the almond-processing stage of the same Spanish export supply chain.
• AEOFRUSE (Asociación Española de Organizaciones de Productores de Frutos Secos y Algarrobas): Spanish association of dried fruit and carob producer organizations. Direct peer: co-signed the 2018 Agreement of Quality Standards for Spanish almond export with SAB-Almendrave, jointly setting sector-wide quality rules for the same producer base.
• Almond Alliance of California: US industry body representing California almond farmers, hullers, and processors on policy and regulatory issues. Peer: SAB-Almendrave hosts Almond Alliance CEO meetings at its Madrid offices to exchange sustainability, water management, and regulatory practices, addressing the same commodity on parallel sides of the Atlantic.
• Almond Board of California: The US almond industry board representing California almond growers, handlers, and processors. Direct peer: SAB-Almendrave and the Almond Board of California hold regular bilateral meetings on global market intelligence, production forecasts, and sustainability, addressing overlapping exporter constituencies in the same commodity.
• CNCFS - Centro Nacional de Competências dos Frutos Secos: Portugal's national center for dried fruit competencies. Direct peer: co-partner with SAB-Almendrave on the EU-co-financed three-year Sustainable Almond campaign, jointly representing Iberian almond producers and exporters on a common European sustainability platform.

Emerging players

• Borges Agricultural & Industrial Nuts: Major Spanish almond and nut processor/exporter and SAB-Almendrave medal recipient. Peer: a leading member company representative of the type of vertically integrated Spanish exporter the association represents, comparable in commodity and export orientation though operating commercially rather than as an industry body.

Others

• ICEX España Exportación e Inversiones: Spain's national trade promotion agency. Adjacent: SAB-Almendrave partners with ICEX on the China market-access seminar and broader export support activities, making ICEX an enabling ecosystem participant rather than a competitor association.

Broad incumbents

• International Nut & Dried Fruit Council (INC): Global umbrella body for the nut and dried fruit industry, representing producers, processors, and traders worldwide. Broad incumbent: INC operates at a higher aggregation level than SAB-Almendrave, providing statistics, health research, and trade advocacy that complement the Spanish association's national export focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/almendrave

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SAB-Almendrave