Galician exports grow by 31% compared to March last year driven by the automotive sector

Galicia made foreign sales for 3,018.5 million euros in Marchwhich is 31.1% more than in the same month of 2022, according to data published this Friday by the Galician Institute of Statistics (IGE).

This increase is higher than the Spanish average (17.7%). However, exports from Galicia recorded a smaller increase in the first quarter of the year (8.2%), compared to a 14.6% increase for the country as a whole.

Products with the greatest positive impact on exports Galicia was in March and in the first quarter sale of motor vehicleswhile the biggest stoppage occurs with fuel.

According to the economic destination, sales in the EU (which make up 70.4% of total sales) increased by 23.9% in March. Compared to other countries, this represents an increase compared to Morocco and Turkey.

decline in imports

In relationship with importsdecreased by 8.3% in March in Galicia, with an amount of EUR 1,773.8 million, which shows a positive balance of foreign sales of almost HRK 1,244.6 million. The biggest decrease is recorded in motor vehicles. Those from the United States are falling – with the heavy weight of liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries – and those from China are increasing – the country is in full economic recovery after overcoming the zero covid policy – and Libya.

Between January and March, imports in the Galician community amounted to 2.055 million euros, or 13.2% less than in the same period last year.

Industry development

Traffic from industry rose 22% in March Galicia compared to the same month of the previous year, which is more than twice as high as the average, according to the data published this Friday by the State Bureau of Statistics (AND NOT). On average, the community has accumulated an increase of 11.1% so far this year.

Nationwide, sales rose 9.7% last March compared to the same month in 2022, driven largely by higher sales of consumer durables and capital goods, which rose 20% and 17%, respectively.

With a year-on-year improvement in March, 1.3 points higher than in February, industry turnover is already increasing 25 consecutive months of promotions after it previously had a year of negative year-on-year rates due to the covid crisis.

However, on a monthly basis (March vs. February) and in seasonally and calendar adjusted data, the industry decreased its sales by 2.8%, its biggest monthly decline since March 2022, when it fell by 4.5%.

In addition to non-durable consumer goods and capital goods, which led the shift in industrial turnover, sales also increased in consumer durables (11.1%) and intermediate products (6.8%), compared to the decline in energy, whose sales fell by 18 percent year-on-year.

Branches in which sales increased the most compared to March 2022 are the production of electrical equipment and materials (30.6%); the production of beverages (29.6%) and the production of products from other non-metallic minerals (27.3%), while the largest year-on-year decline in turnover was recorded by coke ovens and oil refining (-18%) and shipping, railway, aviation and space construction and combat vehicles (-13.5%).

A 2.8% drop in sales compared to February

Despite sales growth at a year-on-year rate, monthly (March compared to February) and according to seasonally and calendar adjusted data, Spanish industry decreased sales by 2.8%, the largest monthly decline since March 2022, when they fell by 4, 5%.

Only durable consumer goods and non-durable consumer goods increased turnover on a monthly basis in March, by 3.5 and 0.7 percent, respectively. In contrast, a monthly decline was recorded in the sale of energy (-5.9%), capital products (-5.2%) and intermediate products (-1.1%).

The activities that in the seasonally adjusted series increased sales the most compared to February were the production of computer products (10.1%); repair and assembly of machines and equipment (9.9%) and furniture production (6.4%), while the largest monthly decreases were recorded in the production of motor vehicles (-22.1%); production of other means of transport (-9.9%) and coke ovens and oil refining (-6%).

Asturias leads in sales growth

Industry turnover increased last March in all autonomous communities at a year-on-year rate except for Murcia, where it fell by 1.8%.

The largest increases occurred in Asturias (23.7%), Galicia (22.1%), Extremadura (22%) i Castile and Leon (17.6%), while Andalusia (1.2%), Madrid (6.1%), Aragon (7.4%) and the Community of Valencia (8%) presented themselves the most moderately.