In cumulative terms, during the first two months of the year, exports rose by 1.9% compared to the same period last year, above the European Union average (-0.1%).

Catalan exports grew 2.7% in February year-on-year, reaching 4,990 million euros. It is the highest ever figure for February according to ACCIÓ, the Catalan agency for business competitiveness in the Department of Enterprise and Employment.

In fact, the 2.7% growth year-on-year in February was above the average for the euro zone (+ 2.6%), representing 25.1% of all foreign sales in Spain during the month of February. The increase in exports in February, according to the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, was driven by export growth of the automotive (+ 8.2%) and chemicals (+ 2.8%) sectors.

It is the best start of the year in terms of sales of Catalan companies overseas. In cumulative terms in January and February exports rose by 1.9% to 9,750 million euros, a figure which represents 25.8% of exports from Spain during these two months. Growth in cumulative terms in Catalonia was higher than in the European Union, where exports fell 0.1%.

The growth of foreign sales of Catalan companies at the beginning of 2015 continues to record of exports broken last year as a whole. Exports grew by 3.1% in annual terms, breaking the ceiling of 60.000 million euros for the first time ever. In total, more than 47,500 companies exported, 16,000 of which are considered regular exporters (companies selling abroad in the last 4 years in a row).

Source and photo: BCL