Spanish major trading hubs

Do you know which Spanish cities export/import the most foreign traded goods? Find Your Spain has looked into which products are most in demand abroad, where these products are shipped to/from and with which countries does Spain have its closest economic ties. All measured in terms economic value, Euros. The numbers come from the Observatory of Economic Complexity, OEC.com, and cover the month of November 2022.

We have previously written articles on the Spanish economy which have covered issues like total size (GDP), where the Spanish economy ranks globally, GDP per capita as well as total imports/exports and more. If you want to catch up on some our previous articles on Spain’s economy, please follow this link: Economy & Business.

As mentioned, in this article we take a closer look at the locations where much of Spanish exports and imports are sent from/to or through whether by land, sea, air or through a pipeline. If you somewhat familiar with Spain and it economy, some of these cities may seem like obvious choices as they are important population and financial centers while other foreign trade centers may come as more of a surprise you.

Exports from Spain

According to the OEC, total exports from Spain in November of 2022 amounted to a total of €37.7 billion. That’s an increase of nearly 30% on the same month the previous year. The most in-demand Spanish products are categorized as vaccines/blood/toxins and cultures, cars, refined petroleum, various commodities (not elsewhere specified) and packaged medicaments.

The value of these products sum up to about €11.6 or a bit less than 31% of total exports. That leaves a variety of other products that make up almost 70% of the export value, or just over €26 billion worth, for the same month.

The top five hubs from which a lot of these products are exported are Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia as well as La Coruña and Pontevedra, both in the region of Galicia. Exports being shipped from these economic centers constitute just over 50% of the total. That still leaves about half of the exports of the month, or almost €19 billion worth of goods, to be shipped out from other locations.

So, where are these exports destined? The biggest recipients of Spanish goods (for this month) were France, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Portugal. In other words, fairly local in a geographical perspective. These top five trading partners receive just over 50% of Spanish exports for the month, or about €19 billion worth of products, leaving about a similar amount to be split among all other importers of Spanish goods.

Imports to Spain

Total imports to Spain in November of 2022 ended up at about €40.5 billion. That’s an increase of nearly 18% compared to the same month a year earlier The most in-demand imported products were crude petroleum, petroleum gas, cars, motor vehicles parts and accessories, as well as packaged medicaments.

In total, these top five product categories are valued at a bit over €10 billion and make up ca. 25% of the total imports. It also tells us that a considerable range of other in-demand items make up almost 75% of imported goods equal to just over €30 billions worth of products.

The top five centers through which a lot of these products are imported include Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Tarragona and Murcia. Imports shipped to these economic centers from abroad constitute almost 55% of the total and amount to almost €22.5 billions. That still leaves around 45% (or €18 billion worth) of the monthly imports to find other entry ports into Spain.

So, where do these imported goods come from? The biggest suppliers of products to Spain are China, Germany, France, the USA and Italy. These top five trading partners sent around €17 billions worth of goods to Spain during the month of November 2022, which constitutes about 42.5% of the total.

This also leaves about 57.5% (or over €23 billions) to be split among all other foreign suppliers to Spain.

In Summary

While exports are still about €2.8 billion lower than imports, causing a monthly deficit in traded goods, the growth rate in exports outweigh the increase in imported goods by some margin. On top of this, Spain enjoys a decent surplus in traded services which almost closes the gap in traded goods. But not quite.

Spain is perhaps (to a lot of foreigners) more often better known for being a producer of food and drink products but while the weight and volume of such products may be high, their value in terms of Euros are less than for a significant amount of other industries. Refined products of various sorts with a higher value added dominate the list of exports. This also shows that the Spanish economy is quite diverse.

When looking to where goods are shipped when being exported or imported to the country, the top three cities of Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia seem like natural choices. These are the main population nuclei of Spain and also enjoy being major tourist destinations as well as financial and cultural centers. But, although these metropolitan areas dominate trade, 45% of imports and around 50% of exports find a different route to and from the country.

Among its top trading partners, countries with large economies close to Spain geographically demand more of its products while the case for imports show far away countries and manufacturing powerhouses such as China and the USA take prominent roles.

Hope you enjoyed this article!

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