A good outlook despite the complex international context

The Exporters and Investors Club assesses the dynamism of Spanish foreign trade in the first quarter of the year

photo_camera antonio-bonet-presidente

The Spanish Exporters and Investors Club values very positively the evolution of Spanish foreign trade in the first three months of the year, which resulted in a growth of 23.9% in exports of goods, up to 89,611 million, according to data released this morning by the Secretary of State for Commerce. This represents a new all-time record in sales of Spanish goods abroad, having far exceeded the volume achieved in the first three months of 2019, before the "coronacrisis".

For their part, imports rose by 39% to 105,027.8 million, reflecting the rise in energy. Non-energy imports have risen considerably more than exports, causing the country to move from a trade surplus in January-March 2021 to a deficit of 4,364 million euros in the same period this year. This significant increase in foreign purchases detracts from the growth of our economy.

"The data for the first quarter show that exports managed to avoid the complicated international scenario and show the robust evolution that has continued over the last few months", says the president of the Exporters' Club, Antonio Bonet, who also stresses that "the dynamism of foreign trade continues, with exports and imports that are softening their growth, but which continue to advance at a high rate despite the difficulties of the current international environment".

The year-on-year growth of Spanish exports in the first quarter of 2022 was higher than that recorded in other European countries such as France (20.3%), Germany (11.1%) and the United Kingdom (10.0%), and was even higher than sales in the USA (18.4%), China (13.4%) and Japan (14.5%).

The Exporters' Club is very positive that, despite the complicated situation, various opportunities are arising from the conflict for Spanish companies, such as the diversification of foreign trade, the simplification of value chains and the promotion of alternative energies, which Spanish companies should not fail to take advantage of.  

By geographical area, the European Union (63.4% of the total) and the Eurozone (55.9% of the total) have increased their importance as export destinations.

The sector that contributed most to the improvement in exports in the first quarter was chemical products, with an increase of 45.1% year-on-year; in contrast, the automobile sector made a negative contribution, with a 0.6% drop in foreign sales up to March.
 

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