Spanish exports and imports both reached record highs

SPANISH exports and imports both reached record highs in the period January to August 2022 according to a recent statement by Xiana Méndez, Secretary of State for Commerce.

Compared to the previous year, exports increased by 25 per cent to €252 billion and Méndez said “Spanish foreign trade continues to show dynamism despite the uncertainty in a less favourable global context, reaching historical figures in the value of exports and imports.”

Conversely and equally importantly for the economy, imports rose by 40.5 per cent to €298.5 billion so there is a significant negative balance of trade which needs to be addressed especially as the cost of living continues to rise.

The bulk of the statement was devoted to information concerning exports with the biggest market being the European Union (62 per cent of the total) which was up by 26.1 per cent.

It was notable that the bulk of growth was to other members of the euro zone with much lower growth to those in the European Union who still keep their own currencies although in August the situation had started to reverse.

The main positive contributions to the annual variation rate of exports came from the sectors of energy products, capital goods, food, beverages, tobacco, automobiles.

The autonomous communities with the highest year-on-year growth in their exports were the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands and the Community of Madrid.

Despite the reported difficulties caused by Brexit, trade with the United Kingdom in August was also up by more than 50 per cent.

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