James Warren
THE Ministry of Industry and Tourism revealed yesterday the favourable financial position Andalucia sits in in 2020 thanks to its strong export industry.
Figures released by the Ministry show that Andalucia earned a trade surplus of €2.01 million between January and September this year, giving a brief glimmer of hope during the COVID-19 crisis.
This total came as a result of a combined export total of €20.5 million compared to just €18.5 million imported.
Despite the positive figures, as a whole, exports dropped by 14.5% compared to the same period in 2019, the fact that imports dropped simultaneously by 18.3% allowed the region to stay in the green.
Andalucia bucks the trend nationwide, with the country’s financial market currently in deficit by €11.1 billion after a 12.6% drop in exports and a 17.2% rise in imports.
According to experts, outlined in the Extenda statement, the rise of the Andalucian market is largely down to the quality and variation of its offerings.
Andalucia’s agri-food sector has been the most profitable, with legumes and vegetables leading the charge with a 5.4% increase in exports followed by fruits with an increase of 2.4%.
However fats and oils dropped by 4.5%, with the majority of the total corresponding to olive oil production.
Thanks to the sector crisis that the olive industry is facing, although exports grew, overall value dropped by a staggering 8.1%.
Many of Andalucia’s core exports, such as electrical material, fuels and oil, iron and steel fell dramatically by up to 38%, a direct result of the pandemic.
The aeronautic industry also showed dramatic losses, a factor that heavily contributed to the recent job cuts at Spain’s Airbus manufacturing plant in Madrid.
By province, Granada leads the charge when it comes to supporting the Andalucian economy through its food exports.
It is followed by Malaga, Almeria and Sevilla with Cordoba in fifth position.
Cadiz and Huelva also register highly on the table thanks to their ports being the main point of entry and exit of large quantities of the region’s exports.
