Promoting the internationalisation of small and medium-sized businesses is one of the main areas of action of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce. In this regard, Leonard Pera, general manager of Open-Ideas, talks to us about the importance of exports as a driver of economic growth.
Foreign trade
Tags: Companies , Import and export , Internationalization
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2016 has ended with excellent performance in the foreign sector. Exports of goods have exceeded 250 billion euros, while imports have been surprisingly controlled, decreasing their weight in a context of economic growth. It seems that this new scenario is consolidating, where economic growth is not linked to an extreme boom in imports and that finally our internal demand can be a stimulus for national sales.
In terms of the external balance, services and of course tourism continue to follow this trend and show positive results. In this way, we have started 2017 with extraordinarily good prospects in terms of consolidating economic growth supported by a dynamic external sector.
Another aspect to highlight is the expansion of export focuses. If Catalonia and Valencia were and continue to be the main exporting communities, a diversification of export origins is taking place. Castilla y León and Galicia are the communities that are growing the most, expanding not only the geographic spectrum but also the type of companies. As always, the 80/20 rule (large companies and SMEs, respectively) will continue to apply in 2017, but an increase in the international role of SMEs is noted in line with the weight they have in the Spanish economy.
In the case of Catalonia, and specifically in the Lleida area, we find mexico phone lookup irregular scenario. Sales of services continue to play a relevant role but the sale of products, mainly fruit and vegetables, is facing a scenario of uncertainty. The impact of the Russian sanctions due to the role of the European Union in the conflict in Ukraine is negatively affecting sales of fruit and vegetables in this important market: but beyond what had already been expected, it has become evident that many of the exports to Eastern countries were actually exports to Russia via third countries. This has caused the effect of these sanctions on our foreign sector to be greater than expected.
The expansion of target markets is an unfinished business that cannot wait any longer to be tackled and it is essential to increase presence in the markets that will experience the greatest growth between now and 2050, such as Asia or the Gulf countries where the Spanish presence is residual.