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Late summer rainfall and change in production system could improve yield for farmers

The price competitiveness index for Catalan industry in relation to other industrialised countries improved by 0.4 points in the last quarter of 2014 compared to the same period of 2013, according to figures released on Monday by the Statistical Institute of Catalonia (IDESCAT). This improvement is particularly noticeable when compared against newly industrialised Asian countries, over which Catalan industry held a 2.7 percent advantage in competitiveness. A recent decline in the Euro's value has aided in facilitating the attractiveness of Catalonia's industrial products in the market. The favourable exchange rate has helped offset the loss of competitiveness of industrial prices compared to other industrialised countries.

The German multinational company Basf announced on Tuesday it will invest €21 million to expand one of the plants it has in the area of Tarragona, in Southern Catalonia. Basf operates several plants in the Tarragona area, which is Spain's main centre for the petro-chemical industry and one of the most important ones at European level. The investment announced this Tuesday is the largest made by the Spanish division of the German multinational in a single plant in many years, confirmed the company. The centre producing the innovative liquid fungicides for sustainable agriculture will extend its facilities and increase production capacity of these fungicides for high performance crops. Once the work is completed, the company will add 30 workers to its staff. Basf expects the expansion work to end and the new production line to be fully operational by the end of next year.

The Swiss multinational will build a new factory for Nescafé in Girona, where it has already an important plant that exports its products to more than 70 countries. Nestlé will invest €102 million in the project and the new facilities should be operational by the end of 2017, explained the company's Director General for Spain, Laurent Dereux. It will become the most important plant in Europe and its third-biggest in the world in terms of soluble coffee production capacity. The new factory will be built next to the existing plant and will add 10,000 additional square metres to the compound, increasing its production capacity by 30%. It will replace the plant’s oldest production chain, which will not be dismantled as it could be useful in the medium term. The expansion will bring some 40 new jobs to the Catalan plant.

Catalonia exported €56.87 billion worth of industrial products last year, which represents a 3.5% increase on 2013’s figures, according to data released on Wednesday by the Catalan Statistics Institute (Idescat). The exports of high-technology products reached €5.58 billion, a 6.1% growth on figures from the previous year. These were also the type of product which experienced the greatest increase in exports during 2014, mostly thanks to sales from outside the European Union, which increased by 10.9%. Such an important boost also meant that sales outside the EU were larger than exports to other European Union Member States. The international sales of medium-high range products reached €28.27 billion, a 2.8% growth on 2013 figures.

The Catalan Government has approved 3 new environmental taxes on the air pollution emissions of commercial flights, industrial gas and particle emission, and the nuclear production of electric energy. €50 million are expected to be raised per year once the law will be enforced, which is scheduled for mid-year. The Spokesperson for the Catalan Government, Francesc Homs, has admitted that flights at Barcelona’s El Prat Airport would likely be affected. However, he ensured that none of these 3 new taxes would have a negative impact on the consumers. The law specifies that the tax cannot affect pricing, neither for plane tickets nor for electricity, pointed out Homs. He then put in contrast the €98 million fees an airline can have to pay to the Spanish Airport Authority (AENA) with the €1 million in taxes that may be levied by the Catalan Government.

The economic recession has meant that Catalonia’s industrial production index decreased by 2.7% last year, according to the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE). In addition, the note indicated that the Catalan industrial sector has contracted for the last 10 consecutive months. However, Catalan industry had been less affected than the Spanish average, which plummeted by 5.9% in 2012. One severely affected sector was the production of long-life goods, in which car manufacturers are included, which decreased by 7.1% in December, accumulating 28 consecutive months in the red. Another sector with problems is the means of production, with a 7.3% decrease in December and 11 consecutive months of accumulated drops.