Spain’s exports surpassed 383.688 billion euros in the January to December 2023 period. It marked the second-best year in the historical series after the record in 2022, although it represented a 1.4 percent decline from 2022, according to the Monthly Report on Foreign Trade produced by the Secretary of State for Trade using data from customs declarations. The foreign trade gap faced a complex international environment dominated by the Ukraine war, the ongoing conflict in Gaza, and a slowdown among major trading partners.
The Secretary of State for Trade, Xiana Méndez, described the drop in outward shipments as a normalization after the big fluctuations of recent years, the exceptional year of 2022, and abnormal patterns linked to the energy crisis and the pandemic. Even removing last year’s vaccine exports, which were tied to addressing COVID-19, Spain’s goods exports would have risen versus 2022.
Nevertheless, the drop in Spain’s trade was milder than the declines seen across the European Union of 27 and the euro area, which stood at 2.5 percent and 3.3 percent respectively. This allowed Spain to gain share in total exports to reach 5.9 percent, the highest level in its history. In relation to the European Union’s importance in exports, the bloc’s share remained stable at 62.6 percent. While exports to the euro area fell 2.8 percent to 54.5 percent of the total, shipments to the rest of the EU rose 7.8 percent, and Spain achieved record figures in markets such as Germany, Italy, Poland, as well as the United Kingdom, Morocco, and Turkey.
Enthusiastic about the overall picture yet acknowledging ongoing challenges, Méndez noted that Spanish goods exports have surpassed pre pandemic levels, running 32 percent higher than 2019 volumes. This performance exceeds that of neighboring countries like France and Germany, whose growth since 2019 has been more modest. Spain’s exports have even grown in comparison with the United States and sit near the level of growth seen in major players such as China and Japan.
Despite the positive interpretation, export sales have posted nine consecutive months of negative results from April to December, with improvement in the first quarter of the year offsetting the downturn. The government projects short term positive prospects, with a forecast for growth in 2024 of goods and services exports. The fourth quarter data show improvements in order books and a continued positive trend in the coming months. In 2023 the base of exporting companies remained on the rise with nearly 44,000 Spanish firms selling abroad.
A sectoral view shows that automobiles contributed 2.4 points to the annual growth rate, capital goods 1.8 points, and food, beverages and tobacco 0.8 points, together accounting for more than half of the year’s exports. Negative contributions came from energy and chemical products. The food sector stood out as the largest trade surplus, defined as the difference between imports and exports, with a balance exceeding 14 billion euros. This occurred amid intense domestic concerns about fair competition and imports from third countries.
Méndez emphasized that the sector is a clear winner in the external balance, gaining access to new markets through exports while importing cheaper inputs that help sustain export competitiveness. Since 2019, this sector has expanded by almost 40 percent, with the largest regional surpluses in meat, legumes, fruit, beverages, and canned goods. She also noted that it is still early to gauge the impact of drought on future results.
At the same time, imports reached 424.0 billion euros in 2023, down 7.2 percent, contributing to a more than 40 percent reduction in the trade deficit versus the previous year. The energy component, especially gas, made up a large share of imports in 2022 during the energy crisis and remains a factor in the overall balance. The trade deficit narrowed to 40.560 billion euros in 2023, with the energy component accounting for about 81 percent of that deficit. The import-export coverage ratio stood at 90.4 percent, up 5.3 percentage points from 2022.
Overall, the data show a still-present deficit in trade, though substantially reduced. The energy share remains a pivotal driver of the balance, while non energy categories contribute to steadier growth in export markets. This balance outlines a mixed but improving external position for Spain, reflecting resilience amid ongoing global uncertainties.
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