"It's almost like nothing happened." It is hard to hear phrases like this and more so if they refer to the years 2020 and 2021. But this reflection is made by Pedro Antonio Morejón, the territorial director of ICEX in Castilla-La Mancha. And it is that globally the export figures put the region at the level of those that existed before the coronavirus. What's more, the forecasts made by ICEX for 2021 is that Castilla-La Mancha will end up close to 8.000 million euros in turnover abroad. Specifically, it marks 7.960 million and if that figure is achieved, the region would exceed the record it had so far, which is that of 2019, with 7.527 million. In other words, Castilla-La Mancha can end the year exporting more than before the pandemic and setting a new ceiling.
Morejón points out that Castilla-La Mancha has done better than the country's average. In Spain as a whole, 2021 may be the year in which the position lost in 2020 is recovered, since last year the country's exports fell by 10% and this year they could rise by 10,2%. However, in the case of Castilla-La Mancha, it would not only recover, but would also increase its data compared to the previous situation, since last year exports fell by half the average for the country, 4,5%, and this year rises almost the same as the rest of Spain, 10,7%.
Where is the key to the Castilian-La Mancha miracle? Morejón clarifies that the region has never had an export tradition, but with the previous crisis many companies launched to look for new markets abroad. “They have seen that it is not more complicated for a Canadian company to buy and pay you than one from Palencia”, he explains. Morejón adds that there is a very important sector such as agri-food, which has not been so affected by the mobility limitations imposed by the coronavirus.
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Although the export figures recover globally, the data by sectors, markets or number of companies have been revolutionized by the coronavirus. Regarding the number of exporting companies, almost a thousand have been lost in one year. They would be around 6.088. Morejón explains that it has affected those who had recently started their adventure abroad. “Those that had started exporting, the pandemic has thrown them out of the market,” he points out. This loss is not so noticeable in the macroeconomic data, since 90% of the region's exports are made by regular companies.
As for the sectors, many of the large exports remain strong and increases are seen this 2021 in electrical appliances, machinery, meat, oil, vehicles, aluminum, plastics. On the contrary, the sectors that exported the least in volumes continue to give data in the red. “They are new sectors incorporated into exports”, he explains, “they are more companies, smaller, more fragile”.
In relation to the markets, the United Kingdom continues to fall due to the issue of Brexit and Germany does not recover its pulse. Instead, France and Italy are gaining prominence as destinations for Castilian-La Mancha products. Among the new ones, the increase in countries such as Denmark, Poland or Morocco stands out.
Albacete is recovering positions. Morejón points out that it spent years in negative values and is recovering positions. By 2021 it can grow 11,5%. He points out that it is diversifying into sectors and that is boosting it.
Ciudad Real recovers with wine. Morejón recognizes that it is a province whose data depends a lot on the evolution of the wine sector. After months in negative, it recovers again. For 2021 the rebound may be 17,3%.
Cuenca takes advantage of swine fever in Asia. Cuenca could rise 16,3%. Morejón says that the key is that it has a very powerful meat sector and that it is taking advantage of the opportunity to sell in the Asian market due to the swine fever they are suffering from.
Guadalajara hangs on the components. The automotive sector is key and now there is uncertainty with the arrival of components. It calculates a growth of 4,5%.
Toledo, in balance. Morejón emphasizes that it is the province that stands out for its diversification of these sectors and that is evident in a balanced behavior. For 2021, it foresees a rise of 8,1%.
*Source: The Tribune of Toledo
