2023-06-15 19:58:47
Girona’s exports close the first quarter of the year with better figures than the first four months of 2022. Until the end of April, companies in the demarcation have sold abroad worth 2,603.9 million euros, 8.3% more than a year agoaccording to data from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism.
However, exports slow down in demarcation, after the upward trend of recent months. The demarcation closed the first quarter with a growth of 12.2%, while 2022 ended with a 21% increase in foreign sales. Instead, in April, lGirona companies exported products worth 610.1 million euros, a figure that represents a decrease of 2.7% compared to the same month in 2022.
It will be necessary to see what happens in the coming months, but if you look at the sectors, of those three that are the engine of Girona’s economy, only machinery is boosted in sales abroad (of the 45.2 million of euros in April 2022, this year it goes to 48.5). But both the meat cluster and chemicals – especially these – are falling in exports.
In April, Girona’s chemical industry closed the month making sales abroad worth 97.2 million euros. Compared to the same period in 2022, the decline is up to 23.9%. In part, this is due to the decline in exports recorded by pharmaceutical companies (from 41.5 million last year to 35 million).
In fact, in the case of chemicals, this decline in sales has been accumulating since the beginning of the year. Because the industries in the sector already closed the first quarter of 2023 down (with a 17% drop in exports).
The meat industry retreats
But at the same time, the industry flesh exports also fell in April. At the moment, the decline is not as pronounced as in the case of chemicals. But it is there. Specifically, the slaughterhouses and companies in the cluster exported meat and animal offal – especially pork – for a value of 149.59 million euros. In April of last year, there were 155.88 million; that is, 4% less.
Despite the weight that meat has in Girona’s agri-food industry, however, at the moment this decline is not noticeable in the sector as a whole. Because this April, all the industries included in it closed with a 6.8% increase in exports (selling products abroad worth 266.1 million euros).
Among the products that contributed to attenuating the decline in meats are, for example, food preparations (their exports went from 16 million euros in April last year to 28), pastries and confectionery (from 8 to 12.7 million) or coffee (from 7.3 to 12.59 million).
In terms of destinations, due to proximity and as usual, France continues to be the main foreign market for Girona products. This April, from the demarcation, exports worth 173.82 million were made to the Gallic country (last year, they were 166.49 million). This destination is followed, in that order, by Italy (53.8 million), Germany (47.7 million) and Portugal (31.7 million).
26.7% less towards China
China is the fifth destination for Girona products. This April, 22.30 million euros were exported. Compared to the previous year, the drop in sales was 26.7% less (because then the figure stood at 30.43 million). And this, in retrospect, also explains the decline in meat, because the Asian giant is traditionally a destination for pork.
#Gironas #exports #grew #months #year