Catalan exports broke a historical record in 2021, reaching 80,538 million euros, 21.5% more than in 2020 and 9% more than in 2019, despite the Covid-19 crisis. Thus, the increase in foreign sales was above the euro zone average, which was 17.7%.
Sectorally, Catalonia's foreign sales have registered increases of between 30% and 12% in the main exporting activities. Thus, 30% has been generated by the chemical products industry, followed by capital goods (16.6%) and food and beverages (15.4%). The EU continues to be the main destination for Catalan exports, with an increase of 17.1% in 2021, followed by the rest of Europe and Asia, despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic.
Export activity remained the highest in Spain as a whole, representing 25.4% of total international sales.
The Minister of Business and Labor, Roger Torrent, pointed out that the 2021 data have exceeded "all forecasts" and have demonstrated "the robustness and resilience of the Catalan economy and its business fabric: we have overcome a very complex situation with the supply crisis and the increase in prices."
The minister expressed confidence that the upward trend, which was only interrupted in 2020 due to the pandemic, will be maintained. Looking ahead, Minister Torrent believes that it is necessary to intensify public-private collaboration so that the export sector continues to be the true "engine" of economic recovery, as demonstrated by the fact that its growth is above the improvement of the Catalan Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Torrent has shown his optimism regarding the growth prospects for the foreign sector in 2022, although dependence on foreign markets may have posed a problem at times, and recalled that the internationalization of the Catalan economy has been "historic" and intensified from 2008 when, as a consequence of the crisis, internal demand fell and companies had to promote sales abroad.
The head of Business has also insisted on the opportunity that the European Next Generation funds represent --for which he has requested co-management from the central government-- to promote a change in the productive model and foster innovation, since "internationalization and innovation are linked."