An independent Catalonia would be 11th in the EU in terms of exports

Barcelona (CNA).- Catalan companies’ exports to the rest of Spain and to the whole of the EU represent 47.7% of Catalonia's GDP, which is 14 percentage points higher than the EU average (33.2%). Thus, an independent Catalonia would be the eleventh country in the EU in terms of exports, ahead of Austria, Denmark and Finland. 2015 marked a new record for Catalan exports, reaching 102,487 million euros and Catalan exporter companies already represent 34.4% of the Spanish figure overall. Regarding exports per capita, an independent Catalonia will rank ninth, with 13,650 euros, ahead of France, United Kingdom and Portugal, according to figures released by the public business competitiveness and internationalisation agency, ACCIÓ. According to Catalan Minister for Business and Knowledge, Jordi Baiget, “the most important figure” is the 16,422 Catalan companies which export regularly. A figure which, besides marking a historic record, the government wants to increase.

47,409 Catalan companies exported goods or services last year, meaning 32.2% of Spain’s total. Although this is not a record figure, their figure was higher in 2013, reaching 49,075, what is “significant” according to Minister Baiget is that there are 16,422 Catalan companies which export regularly. This figure, which represents the highest figure since 2008, refers to those companies which have being selling abroad for the last four years.

The sectors which led the exports were the automotive and chemical sector (17.1%) followed by food and beverages (11.7%). Electronic products registered the best evolution, growing by 20.1% in comparison to last year.

Exports to the EU lead total foreign sales, with 65% of the total. France, Catalonia’s first trading partner, accounts for 15.3% of exports, and together with Germany (11.9%), Italy (8.8%), Portugal (7.11%) and the UK (6.4%) occupies the top five positions in the ranking, representing 49.5% of the total. Catalonia exported to the rest of Spain 37.7% of sales, representing 38,648 million euros.

The rest of Europe accounts for 7.1%, followed by Latin America (6.5%), Asia (6.4%) and Africa (6.2%). The Middle East and North America each account for 3.7%.

Evolution wise, sales in the European Union rose by 6.6%. To be noted are increases in sales to Italy (+14.6%), the UK (+10.7%) and Germany (+9.5%), while sales to France, fell by 0.8%. To the rest of the country, sales grew by 0.7% and amounted to 38,648 million euros. Exports to outside of Spain totalled 63,839 million euros, representing an increase of 6.1%.

The most significant increases occurred outside the EU, with increases, for example, of 21% in sales to the United States, 28% to Saudi Arabia, 14% to China, 50% to Cuba, and 37.6% to Argentina, although sales to Brazil (-5.5%) and Venezuela (-44.8%) fell.

Barcelona, the biggest exporting region

Barcelona's exports accounted for 78.4% of the total, with a volume of 50,057.4 million euros, representing an increase of 6.4%. However, the highest increase recorded was in the province of Lleida, with 9.6 %.

The study also highlights that the number of regular exporters (those companies which have exported for the last four consecutive years) grew throughout Catalonia, by 3%.

Baiget: “Companies have integrated an internationalisation strategy”

The Catalan Ministry for Business and Knowledge, Jordi Baiget, stressed in statements to the CNA that this data is possible “thanks to the companies that have integrated a strategy of internationalisation into their business strategy". Baiget stated that “the relevant qualitative data” is that 16,422 Catalan companies export regularly and, although it is a record, the Government wants to increase this number even more. The minister made these statements before meeting with the 36 directors of the delegations abroad of public business competitiveness and internationalisation agencyACCIÓ, an enterprise which holds many offices abroad. The directors have travelled to Barcelona to participate in the XXIII Internationalisation Week, in which more than 600 Catalan companies have taken part.

The report created by ACCIÓ is part of the XXIII Internationalisation Week celebration, which is the Catalan benchmark event in the field of foreign trade. More than 600 Catalan companies participated in order to realise exports and make contacts with the directors of the network of delegations abroad. A new feature this year was a special seminar on the new business paths made possible by e-commerce.