The trade deficit stood at 10.774.7 billion euros in the first two months of the year, which is almost four times the figure recorded in the same period of 2021. The report on foreign trade by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism shows that the energy deficit reached 6.984.5 million euros, double the figure for the same period in 2021 (3.110.4 billion euros), while non-energy exports stood at 3.790.2 billion euros, compared with a surplus of 259.5 million the previous year.
Spanish exports of goods increased by 28.3% up to February, with 56.521.1 million euros, an all-time high for this period. Imports, for their part, also reached an all-time high, with 67.295.8 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 43.5%.
All in all, the coverage rate – the ratio of exports to imports – stood at 84%. In terms of volume, exports rose by 11.1%, as prices, approximated by the Unit Value Indices, increased by 15.5%. Meanwhile, imports increased by 16.9%, after a 22.7% rise in prices.
According to the Secretary of State for Trade, if the results are compared internationally, the accumulated data for Spain show a higher growth in exports than that recorded in Germany (12.8% year-on-year) and France (23.0%). Outside the European Union, exports from the United States (18.4% year-on-year), China (13.6%), Japan (14.4%) and the United Kingdom (19.3%) also grew.
Exports to the European Union in January and February 2022 accounted for 63% of the total, after an increase of 31.7% compared to the same period of the previous year. In the case of sales to the euro zone (55.5% of the total), they increased by 32.3%, while those to the rest of the European Union (7.5% of the total) increased by 27.3%.
By country, the accumulated increase to February in exports to Portugal (48.2%), Italy (27%), France (21.2%) and Germany (10.3%) stands out. In the rest of Europe, sales to Turkey increased by 24.3% and sales to the United Kingdom rose by 26.6%.
