Spain’s economy grew more than expected in the first quarter. Specifically, according to INE data, GDP grew by 0.5% from January to March, not because of increased consumption on other occasions, which fell by 1.3%, but because of investment and exports, which fell by 5.8%. increased till In both cases the main reason is inflation, both for better and for worse. In the first case, for the worse, as high prices kept domestic consumption to a minimum; Also due to the increase in rates and uncertainty. In the second, for the better, as inflation is being ‘exported’ through sales abroad, which are skyrocketing because – although very high – inflation in Spain is more moderate than in the rest of the euro area. encourages people to buy the products. Ours before other competitors with higher CPI rates. Thus, merchandise exports are already 5.4% higher than before the pandemic, while domestic consumption is still down 4.9%.
The Competitiveness Tendencies Index (ITC), calculated with inflation, shows that Spanish competitiveness against the EU and the OECD improved in the first quarter due to a “greater moderation of the CPI in Spain”, according to the Secretary of State for Trade, Ziana. Mendez explained. Last week. The index (the decrease of which reflects greater competitiveness) fell 3.9% compared to the EU in the first quarter and 2.8% compared to the OECD due to a decrease in the relative price index.
This moderation of the CPI relative to the rest of the euro area countries (Eurostat data indicates a harmonized inflation rate of 3.1% in Spain compared to 6.9% in the euro countries in March) helped to boost asset exports. Statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce show that foreign sales increased by 14.6% from January to March, a boost of much greater intensity than that recorded by the euro area (7.7%), with countries leading in exports but which are now Spain. , such as Germany (7.8%) or France (9.5%).
Even if one looks beyond the EU’s borders, exports from the United States grew less than Spain (6.5%), as did China (8.4%) or Japan (4.8%).
In volume, 102,684 million was achieved thanks to exports in the first quarter only, a record in the historical series. One of the items isolated for its contribution to the sales volume is food, with sales outside our borders of 17,600 million euros, up 14% compared to a year ago. In the case of fruits, vegetables and vegetables 6,800 million euros, an increase of 10.1% compared to the previous year. This is followed by the volume of meat products, of which 3,000 million were exported, a 20% increase over 2022. The automotive sector registered a growth of 32% with 13,750 million.
