22.04.2014 - 06:02
In the first two months of 2014 exports of Catalan companies increased by 2.2% on the same period last year, according to figures released on Wednesday by the Spanish Ministry for the Economy and Competitiveness. In fact, Catalan companies were responsible for 25.3% of all exports from Spain. Spain’s exports in January and February reached €37.76 billion, a 4% increase on figures from the same period last year. In addition, the amount reached in the first two months of 2014 represents a historical record. The main industries behind those numbers are food, drinks, and tobacco, as well as manufacturing and automation. The main markets for Spanish products were the UK, Portugal, the United States, and Germany. 64.6% of the exports go to the European Union while the remaining 35.4% go to the rest of the world.
In the whole of Spain, exports increased by 4% in the first two months of the year, reaching €37.76 billion, which represents a new historic record. At the same time, imports reached €42.2 billion, with a 3% increase compared to 2013 figures. Imports posted the highest increase of the last few years. Trade deficit reached 4.44 billion in the first two months of 2014, a 5.2% reduction compared to the same period of 2013. Energy deficit was reduced by 12.6% to €7.05 billion, while the surplus of non-energy goods reached €2.61 billion.
Exports to the EU increased by 6.1% in the period analyzed, four times more than the 1.5% increase posted in January and February 2013. This improvement is due to a better economic situation in most European countries. Exports to the EU represented 64.6% of the total exported. Goods sold to other Eurozone countries grew by 5.5%, while those sold to the rest of the EU increased by 8.2%. Exports to non-EU countries increased by 0.4% and now represent 35.4% of total Spanish exports. Those sent to Asia increased by 13.4%, particularly in Japan (45.3%), South Korea (46.7%) and China (14%).
Regarding economic sectors, the most important growth was for the food, drinks, and tobacco industries, which increased their exports by 1.3%. The manufacturing sector increased foreign sales by 0.8%, the same rate as the car industry. In addition, non-chemical semi-manufactured products posted a 0.7% export increase, while capital goods had a 0.4% growth. Regarding imports, those of cars and capital goods posted significant increases.
