Catalan exports exceeded 70.000 million in 2017, historic record for the seventh time in a row

• Catalan exports grew 8.7% in 2017 when compared to the previous year
• Catalan exports represent 25.6% of the Spanish total

For the first time, Catalan exports exceeded 70,000 million euros in 2017. Catalan sales to external markets were of exactly 70,828.7 million, the highest of the historic records. It constitutes a new record for the seventh year in a row, with an interannual growth of 8.7%. This growth is higher than the European Union mean (+7.4%) and the Euro zone (+7.2%), as well as that of countries such as Italy (+7.4%), Germany (+6.3%) or France (+4.5%).

With a 25.6% of the total, Catalonia was, again, in 2017 the best exporting region in Spain, over other regions such as Andalusia (11.2%), Madrid (11%) and the Valencian Community (10.6%) (figures published by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad t, Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness).

Last 2017 also recorded the historic maximum for stable Catalan exporting companies (17,091 companies). By ‘stable’ we understand companies which have been selling to external markets for the last four years.

With regard to sectors, it is important to highlight that the main Catalan sectors in exports have record historic maximums as well, with important growths in the metallurgy and metallic products (+12.7%), chemical (9%), rubber and plastic (+6.5%), machinery (+6.3%), textile and dressmaking (+5.4%), food and beverages (+5.2%), pharmaceutical products (+4.4%) and vehicles (+3.2%).

Finally, with regard to geographical regions, export records have been registered in Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East and North America. Especially noticeable was the growth in North America (20.6%), but also in Africa (15.2%), Asia (11.5%) and the European Union (7.2%).

 [03/23/2018]