Residents of Riudarenes, a small town south of Girona, told reporters last week that Why did yours suddenly become the second richest municipality in Spain? “I see everyone the same and I don’t know where that came from,” a baker said in the La 1 news release. “Maybe I didn’t notice and who knows how long I got accepted there”.
According to the latest statistics on personal income tax returns published by the Tax Office between 2019 and 2020 The average gross income of the riudarenes increased from 33,400 to 67,302 euros. This resulted in a huge increase in the classification of the wealthiest municipalities in Spain, where it passed. 64 to 2, only surpassed by Madrid’s Pozuelo de Alarcón, a classic on the list. Riudarenes thus becomes the wealthiest place in Catalonia, traditionally Sant Just Desvern and Sant Cugat del Valles Because it’s home to the residences of Barcelona’s rich and famous. How is it possible to double the average income of a municipality in just one year?
Riudarenes is a small town. 2,283 people live. It is not a very touristic area beyond rural tourism establishments or a golden real estate. On average, the square meter sells for 1,167 euros, less than half what is required in the main municipalities of the Costa Brava, although there are several large farmhouses for sale. Prices are over 1 million euros.
For days, the main hypothesis of the media was that a 835,805 Euro lottery prize This touched a young neighbor in 2019. However, with the available data, this amount is not enough to explain the staggering income growth of the population. First, because lottery prizes are taxed at 20% and do not fall under the tax base of personal income tax. Secondly, those included in personal income tax yields with reward: that is, the young winner should have invested his 668,000 euros (after taxes) into something that would bring him millionaire profits in just twelve months.
It will be seen that these benefits are reflected in the statistics. income from the capital of the municipality, from which total 4.6 million € in 2019 38.2 million in 2020. It’s hard to believe that a single person has made such a big hit in such a short time.
Wealth did not come suddenly
When towns like Riudarenes infiltrate Spain’s richest lists, the media often statistical anomaly this raises the average. So that day Avinyonet del Penedes (Barcelona) became the second richest municipality in Spain (in 2019), Country He discovered that it was due to the presence of businessman Mauricio Botton, the grandson of Danone’s founder. when it’s his turn matadepera (in Barcelona, 2020), the same newspaper attributed this to the fact that businessman and neighbor Manuel Lao sold his gaming company to Blackstone. in 2021 hidden revealed XeresaValencia, a town of 2,197 inhabitants, was the second richest country to sell orange warehouses to two investment funds.
But the rise of Riudarenes was not like that. from the night. In 2018 it was already among the thirty wealthiest municipalities in Spain and ranked 14th at the regional level. As can be seen in the chart below, the evolution of average income has been gradual and the biggest jump has been made by income from movable capital which includes bank interest, stock dividends and capital gains. Thus, as the mayor explained Josep Tabandue to improvement “a small group of neighbors who are very good at their job.”
Winners of the pig boom
Of the 195 companies that appear to be registered in Riudarenes, the first to stand out is, Batalle meat. It is a company that has already appeared on the pages of EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA, a member of the Prensa Ibérica group. One of Spain’s main pork exporters. Last January, this newspaper reported that 52% of Batallé’s production goes abroad, and the company is one of 57 Spanish companies authorized to sell pork in China. In addition, residents of Faramontanos de Tábara in Zamora macro farm you intend to set up there.
The swine fever devastated the Asian country in 2018 and It has benefited an important group of companies in our country. They started trading there. Although sales have slowed as China recovers, the last few years have shown themselves Golden age of the Spanish pig. “China needed a lot of meat and they started pulling it out of the international market. There was a struggle between several countries. Spain was the most prominent in Europe. This prompted countries like Germany and Denmark to lower their censuses, because Spain was lowering its cost level. more competitive. We do that very well”, then industry sources explained to this newsroom. In this content, Cárnica Batallé, a native of Riudarenes all her life -It was founded in 1920 by Pere Batallé, the grandfather of the current owners- emerged as one of the big winners.
Cárnica Batallé SA, the parent company of the family holding, increased between 2016 and 2020. 48% sales and entered from 195 to 288 million Euros. But profits rose from 15 to 35 million euros in the same period, so A 133% growth. In 2019, the meat company distributed 27 million euro dividend between shareholders; in 2020 30 million. The share of the company is divided by 50% between the two family branches: Salty Promotionsby Salvador Batallé Carbones and Joba PromotionsHe had a sicav by Josep Batallé Delounder, which closed in September as many do due to tougher taxation. These dividends will result in an increase in the return on municipal capital, as confirmed by the mayor. family lives there. They did not want to make a statement from Batallé on the subject.
“The meat industry has been very stable for years. It is undoubtedly a very important factor in the municipality’s economy and employs a large number of people. However, without data, I cannot attribute the jump in revenue to the meat industry. The city councilor said that Cárnica Batallé is the only meat company of this size in Riudarenes and Agrees, confirming the rumor that they are ‘criminals’. Wars”they employ a lot of people from the town and they don’t show‘, he continues. ‘Not that there is a road to the estate of the rich they live in the city center like everyone else“.
Batalle is ranked 194th. List of the richest people in Spain produced annually World. There are several other millionaire billing companies – Selección Batallé, Esporc, Norfrisa, part of Reserva Batallé and Càrniques de Juià – but they do not offer consolidated accounts and the only company that has paid dividends in recent years has been mother ship Cárnica Batallé. . As expected, it remains to be seen whether the level of benefit is maintained in the future. With the recovery of Chinese pigs, the increase in production costs slows exports.
with incoming information GIRONA DIARYMember of the Iberian Press group.