BARCELONA, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Food and drink products from Spain are growing ever more popular with consumers in China, and demand from importers and distributors is now extending to products that have yet to gain access to the Chinese market, a senior Spanish trade official has said.

"The reception in China has been spectacular," Maria Naranjo, director of the Agri-Food Industry at the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX), said in an interview with Xinhua on Tuesday.

However, she added: "One limitation is that there aren't more Spanish products that can be exported, because we're negotiating product by product. There are many well-liked products that Chinese importers and distributors are demanding from us, but which are not yet on the Chinese market."

Naranjo was speaking during this year's "Eat Spain, Drink Spain" campaign, a global initiative organized by ICEX together with the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The campaign's China program was launched at the Spain Food Nation Summit in Shenzhen on Sept. 10.

According to Naranjo, the Chinese market for Spanish food is also expanding beyond restaurants specializing in Spanish cuisine.

"We have just 30 Spanish restaurants in China - a drop in the ocean - but we are seeing that there are now many hotels and restaurants that have Spanish products on their menu alongside Chinese food," she said.

Wine is another example of changing consumer tastes. Naranjo said renowned Spanish wines, including Rioja and Albarino, have attracted particular interest during this year's campaign.

"There are more and more wine lovers," she said, noting that wine is not traditionally part of Chinese gastronomy. In major cities, however, she sees a new generation of consumers, particularly young people with spending power who are developing an interest in wine.

Naranjo also attributed the growing awareness of Spanish food in China to the recovery and expansion of travel between the two countries.

According to Spain's national tourism agency Turespana, around 795,000 Chinese tourists visited Spain in 2025, up 22.6 percent year on year and 13.5 percent from 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I think the Chinese come to Spain and fall in love with the food," Naranjo said. While gastronomy may not initially be their main reason for visiting, she said, travelers discover "how varied and diverse Spanish gastronomy is."

Following the first "Eat Spain, Drink Spain" campaign last year, Spain in 2026 expanded the initiative in cooperation with the agriculture ministry. Its budget has risen to 2 million euros (2.3 million U.S. dollars), with activities covering 19 countries.

(Source: Xinhua)