Catalan exports fall 1.2% in May after a year of growth

Catalan exports fell 1.2% in May, compared to the same month of last year, to some 6,271 million euros, according the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism in a statement released on Friday.

These figures from May show a decrease in sales abroad from Catalonia after twelve consecutive months of growth since May 2017. Still, exports in the fifth month of 2018 gathered the 24.8% of the total in the State.

Meanwhile, between January and May, exports increased 3.3%, compared to the same almost-semester in 2017, totaling some 30,467 million euros. 

The sectors having contributed to this drop of exports in May were goods and services (with a 2.9% drop down to 1,097.5 million euros) and chemical products (which went down some 1.4% to 1,683.4 million) while the automobile sector increased some 11.2% reaching 1,084.1 million.

Imports meanwhile increased 1.1% in Catalonia in May, reaching 7,829.2 million euros. In this way, the commercial deficit in the fifth month of 2018 reached 1,556.1 million euros, 11.6% higher than in the same month last year.