Every cloud has a silver wall. This well-known saying of the popular proverb is perfectly applicable to the situation in which foreign trade in the province of Alicante is going through. This is what can be interpreted as negative data because this reduced the trade balance surplus by 20% in one year The gradual recovery of Chinese imports is actually good news for industries. In this way, they make up for the shortage of components and raw materials that interfere with their production chain.. While metals and footwear are two of the industries that benefit the most, this blockade is also affecting end products that could represent competition for some companies. Exports, on the other hand, continue to grow, albeit with less dynamism.
The latest data provided by the Provincial Directorate of Commerce show that imports have increased significantly, while exports are showing signs of relaxation. Thus, in the first ten months of the year The value of the products reaching the Alicante region was determined as 4,962 million euros., compared to 3,919 in the same period of the previous year. Overseas sales also increased to 5.886 million, albeit less than 4,536 in 2021. This fact caused the trade surplus to drop from 1,151 a year ago to 923 million.
Being at the forefront of this increase in imports, China has never relinquished the lead. slowed business activities due to strong internal restrictions on covid. The relaxation of measures and the waning of the disease led to a 31.6% increase in sales to the province of Alicante in these first ten months, bringing the total value to 1,348 million euros. The second country, much further away, is Italy, with an increase of 20.8% and 384 million people.
As for imported products; An increase of 36.9% in shoes and 62.5% in aluminum stands out.. Plastic materials are also growing, although there are items that may have reached more than one industry.
Coup
As a result, and much more than meets the eye, this increase in imports has positive results for a large part of the industry. This is expressed by Luis Rodríguez, president of the Federation of Metal Entrepreneurs (Fempa), who reminds companies of the delays in orders for components and raw materials that must come from China, and the problems that are causing them. In his words, “there was a cursed demand that gradually became regularThis makes it possible to return to normalcy in production processes, which in some cases have come to a standstill.” , highlighting the need to bet on relocation “to avoid problems in the future and move towards sustainability”.
Marián Cano, president of the Valencian Footwear Entrepreneurs Association (Avecal), also attributes the increase in imports mostly to the removal of barriers to logistics in China and greater activity in the industry. “Sales – he explains – increased and It is logical that the demand for the sub-industry increases on the part of the companies.“However, he warns that some of these imports correspond to final products from Chinese companies competing at price level, and come to a greater extent because there are market niches for such products.”
The arrival of clothes also increased by 42%For Pepe Serna, president of national and regional textile employers’ associations, this will create a competitive problem for companies producing these products, especially in the Catalonia region. “In the Valencian Community -remembers-, much of the industry is linked to fabrics for the home”.
However, Ignacio Jiménez Raneda, an economist and professor emeritus at the University of Alicante (UA), stresses that increased imports should not be a concern, at least for most companies. In his own words, “We have very strong companies betting on quality, and in this department Chinese products should not pose a threat. Therefore, The importance of the balance of trade should be relativized“.
Regarding the export of the province, Growth was 16.1% until October. In footwear, the increase was 16.9%, ie 1 billion 124 million euros, while fruits and vegetables increased by 4.7% and ranked second with 501 million euros. Plastic materials increased by 16.9% to 375 million, aluminum and its components increased by 33.1% to 344. Toys finally grew 0.8% to 132 million.