Marruecos adelanta a China como destino de las exportaciones andaluzas en lo que va de 2022
The report of the export agency of the Junta de Andalucía, Extenda, on the exports of the autonomous community in the first part of the year 2022 puts Morocco in the ranking of destination countries for Andalusian products.
The Extenda agency has registered Andalusian exports to Morocco worth 277 million euros, 4.3% of total Andalusian imports. This figure puts Morocco in second place, behind the United States and ahead of China, in the list of non-European destinations for Andalusian products. The 277 million euros in this first quarter of 2022 represents an increase of 28.1% compared to the previous year.
The growth has not only been in exports to Morocco, but Andalusia has reached record figures at the beginning of the year 2022. According to figures provided on Extenda's transparency portal, Andalusian exports have grown by 33% in total and are worth 6,311 million euros. The provinces at the top of the Andalusian list are Almeria and Cadiz, and the products are mainly semi-manufactured goods, metals, chemical products and capital goods for Moroccan industry.
Andalusia's main partners, as is the case with all the Spanish autonomous communities, are those of the Eurozone, thanks to the free trade agreements of the European Economic Area. Considering this detail, the volume of transactions with Morocco is very important, especially as it has surpassed the symbolic barrier of China in the ranking.
Spain is Morocco's main source of imports, and everything seems to indicate that trade relations will increase in the coming months, especially after the normalisation of relations between Spain and Morocco. Spanish and Moroccan civil societies are already working on improving their connections following Spain's support for Morocco's autonomy plan for the Sahara, as evidenced by the many business congresses to be held in Andalusia in May and June.
El DG de Políticas Exteriores #Ministerio de #Marruecos mostró su satisfacción por compartir en @CEAes_ una reunión con #empresariosandaluces en la que animó a que se ampliara la participación empresarial andaluza en Marruecos @LFdez_Palacios @extendajunta pic.twitter.com/8IYXXcz0Qf
— Comunicación CEA (@CEAinforma) April 20, 2022
At the end of April, the CEA (Confederation of Andalusian Businessmen) held an important series of meetings with the Moroccan institutions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, trade and representatives of Moroccan businessmen. "The Director General of Foreign Policy of Morocco was pleased to share a meeting with Andalusian businessmen in CEA in which he encouraged the expansion of Andalusian business participation in Morocco", summarised the communication of the Andalusian business body after the meeting in Seville.
Spain's growing investments in Morocco are expected to respond to the needs of a country that is constantly evolving and growing. As could be repeated on numerous occasions at the IMEX Madrid 2022 exhibition on internationalisation and foreign trade.
Strengthening the agri-food sector in Morocco is one of the greatest opportunities for Spanish companies in Morocco. Along with infrastructures, such as water management and processing systems. Morocco's growing energy sector is also one of the attractions for the Spanish economy. The Noor solar plants that Morocco has put into operation offer a considerable number of business options with Spanish capital goods manufacturers, which already have good experience in this sector.
These commercial and economic relations between the two countries are set to create what international relations analysts call 'the cushion of interests'. A term that has stood out for years in the analyses of the Elcano Institute think tank. It consists of following the policy of 'interdependence' between Spain and Morocco. An interdependence that is woven through complementary institutional and commercial connections, in which Spain would have the upper hand thanks to its economic development, comparatively more developed than that of Morocco.
