It has always been considered one of the provinces. more open to the outside and it is one of those showing greater export volume from anywhere in the country. But the reality is that Alicante’s foreign sector, same issues with generative texture usually with a very limited number of large companies and many small companies those who have difficulty gaining in size.
In this way, the total shipments from the province to abroad exceeded the record of 7,000 million Euros last year, More than half—52.4% to be precise—concentrated on just one hundred firms. Moreover, a trend that has been exacerbated by the outbreak of the pandemic and the problems it has created in world trade, the share of these 100 largest companies since 2019 was only 49.9%.
This is also reflected in data in the Spanish Exporters Profile from Icex, which confirms the small size of most firms selling abroad from the state. especially, while nationally, each exporter invoices 2,053,000 Euros average with international shipments Alicante barely exceeds 706,000 euros.
“It’s a cultural issue. highly fragmented business structure There is no culture of cooperation and unity. Rather, what happens here is that when two brothers take over a company, they split the business between them,” says Pablo Gómez, CEO of the consulting firm specializing in internationalizing Oftex, remembering that size is often an important factor of competitiveness.
Only 1.8% of all sales abroad are in Spain
Despite the importance of purely export sectors such as footwear or agri-food, the province of Alicante concentrated only 1.8% of all Spanish exports last year, compared to the 3% it began to represent in early 2000. The loss of interest, which caused it to rise from the ninth place in the ranking of the Spanish provinces with the highest sales abroad in 2001, to the 18th place, where it has been stagnant for the last two years, according to the data provided by Icex.
Absolutely, the volume total number of exporters year reached 10.006, according to ICEX, however, it should be noted that this figure includes anyone who carries out an operation that has to go through customs. So the really relevant figure is, regular exporters. A category where ICEX includes companies that sell abroad. four consecutive years that is, they maintain their constant presence in the foreign market.
The good news is that last year the number of regular exporters from Alicante started to recover after the decline following the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. 2,622, 2% more Although still below 2,735 recorded in 2019, compared to the previous year.
In any case, it should be noted that the decline in regular exporters did not prevent it. total sales volume continues to increase, that is, those who resisted increased their quotas. From here concentration level is higher right now.
Looking at the distribution by products, the province has more than one product. thousand shoes exporter and a similar number of exporters machine and mechanical devices (this does not mean that all of them are manufacturers of these products). There are also more than 800 signatures from the sender. plastic items and about half a thousand devoted food industry, to name the most relevant.
Regarding the prospects for this 2023, Pablo Gómez thinks it can happen. a new year of growth for the foreign sector, given the improvement in the recorded situation. Thus, he points Tensions caused by the war in Ukraine eased, because the situation has somehow returned to normal and problems with supply chains and transportation costs have also improved, which indicates a positive scenario. While the expert doesn’t believe there will be a crash, the point of uncertainty comes from the slowdown in consumption.
New ways to reach the Russian market
The sanctions imposed on Russia as punishment for the invasion of Ukraine have been a serious blow to many companies that have an important market in this country. Specifically, the number of exporters from Alicante working with the Russian market fell by half, from 296 to 149, according to data from Icex. According to Oftex CEO Pablo Gómez, especially those where it represents a larger volume of its activities. So the usual thing is that these companies started to invoice their shipments via countries like Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan to avoid Brussels’ veto. At first this meant delays of up to 60 days for collection, but now the procedures have been expedited and the money arrived in just 15 days.
Source: Informacion
James Sean is a writer for “Social Bites”. He covers a wide range of topics, bringing the latest news and developments to his readers. With a keen sense of what’s important and a passion for writing, James delivers unique and insightful articles that keep his readers informed and engaged.