Spanish exports of goods reached 34 billion euro, a historical maximum for the month of April and with a growth of 15.8% compared to the same month of the previous year. For their part, imports reached 38,6 billion euro, also a maximum for the month of April and increased 14.6% year-on-year. This is reflected in the trade data declared by Customs and collected in the Monthly Foreign Trade Report of the Ministry of Economy, Commerce and Business, prepared by the Secretary of State for Commerce.
Foreign trade in Spain shows greater dynamism than the main surrounding economies, with a good positioning of Spanish companies in international markets. Thus, Spanish exports in April (year-on-year increase of 15.8%) grew above other European partners such as Germany (with a growth of 12.3%) or France (with an increase of 8.3%). Spanish exports even grew much faster than other economic powers such as Japan, the United States or China (with year-on-year growth of 8.3%, 5.6% and 5.1%, respectively).
The dynamism of exports and imports caused a trade deficit of 4,6 billion euro to be recorded, similar to that of a year ago (deficit of 4,3 billion in April 2023). In addition, the energy trade deficit is reduced to 2,9 billion euro in the month of April (compared to the energy trade deficit of 3,4 in April 2023).
By sector, the surpluses in food, beverages and tobacco (1,7 billion euro) stood out, in addition to the automobile sector (530.6 million) and non-chemical semi-manufactures (360.7 million).
With the European Union, the trade surplus increased to 2,8 billion euro (from 2,4 billion in April 2023), while in non-EU destinations a deficit of 7,5 billion euro was recorded. The countries with the largest surpluses were France, Portugal and the United Kingdom.
The coverage rate stood at 88%, which is 0.9 percentage points higher than in April of the previous year (87% with provisional data).
Greater diversification of markets and sectors
In April all sectors contributed positively to the trade balance. Highs were reached for the month of April in the food, beverages and tobacco sectors (growth of 20.5% year-on-year), capital goods (15.3% year-on-year), automobile sector (15.5% year-on-year), manufacturing consumption (15.9% year-on-year) and consumer durables (5.4% year-on-year).
By destination markets, exports to the European Union represented 62.3% of the total and increased by 13.6% year-on-year. They reached record figures for the month for 18 of the 26 community destinations, including Spain’s four main clients worldwide: France, Germany, Italy and Portugal.
For their part, exports directed to non-EU destinations constituted 37.7% of the total and grew by 19.8% year-on-year. Historical highs for the month were obtained in the four main non-EU clients – the United Kingdom, the United States, Morocco and Turkey -, as well as in other particularly relevant markets such as Mexico, Canada and India.
Foreign trade data from January to April 2024
In the accumulated period from 2024 to April, exports of goods reached 127,4 billion euro, the second best figure in the historical series for the same period. For their part, imports exceeded 140,1 billion euro.
These figures are the highest in a January-April period, once the 2023 figure is corrected for the exceptional effect caused by the large increase in Spanish exports of vaccines against Covid-19.
The non-energy balance continues to decline slightly in the first four months of the year and stands at 11 billion euro (compared to the non-energy deficit of 11,6 billion euro in this same period in 2023). In total, the trade balance registered a deficit of 12,7 billion euro.
The sectors with the largest surpluses were: food, beverages and tobacco (7 billion euro), the automobile sector (2,9 billion) and non-chemical semi-manufacturing (2,1 billion).
By geographical areas, the European Union area continues to be the main destination for 63.2% of Spanish exports, while 37.7% of our exports were destined for third countries.
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