In 2021, the Kingdom of Spain sent goods worth 384.5 billion dollars around the world.
This represents a 23.4 percent increase from 2017 and a 23.2 percent increase from 2020 to 2021.
Spain uses the euro, which has appreciated by 5 percent against the US dollar since 2017 and strengthened by 3.9 percent from 2020 to 2021, according to the average exchange rate for 2021.
In 2021, Spain's exports paid for in weaker US dollars were relatively more expensive for international customers due to the stronger European Union currency.
Spain is located on the Iberian Peninsula in western Europe, surrounded to the northwest by Portugal, France, and Andorra to the northeast, and the south by Europe's sole shared border with an African country, Morocco.
Cars, processed petroleum oils, medicine mixtures in dosage, vehicle components or accessories, and blood fractions including antisera are Spain's top five exports.
In 2021, that leading quintet of Spanish exports amounted to about a fifth which is 20.5 percent of the total value of Spanish exports.
According to the most recent country-specific data available, importers in France accounted for 16.1 percent of the global total, Germany was responsible for 10.3 percent, Italy with 8.5 percent, Portugal with 8.2 percent, the United Kingdom with 5.8 percent, the United States of America with 4.5 percent, Belgium also accounted for 4.5 percent, the Netherlands with 3.7 percent, Morocco with 2.9 percent, mainland China with 2.7 percent, Poland with 2.4 percent, and Switzerland purchased 71.4 percent of products exported from Spain.
In terms of value, 73.2 percent of Spain's exports were sent to other European countries, while 11 percent were sold to Asian buyers.
Another 6.5 percent of Spain's exports went to North America.
Africa got 5.8 percent, Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean got 3.3 percent, and Oceania headed by Australia received a smaller percentage of 0.6 percent.
Given Spain's population of 47.2 million people, the country's total exports of 384.5 billion dollars in 2021 equate to nearly 8,200 dollars for each citizen.
That sum is less than the 6,600 dollars per capita average for 2021.
Spain's Top Exports
In 2021, the following export product groupings will have the biggest dollar value in Spanish global shipments.
The percentage share of each export category in terms of total exports from Spain is also indicated.
Vehicles: 54.9 billion dollars accounts for 14.3 percent of total exports
Machinery including computers: 26.3 billion dollars stands at 6.8 percent
Mineral fuels including oil: 24.9 billion dollars account for 6.5 percent
Electrical machinery, equipment: 20.5 billion dollars accounts for 5.3 percent
Pharmaceuticals: 20.3 billion dollars accounts for 5.3 percent
Plastics, plastic articles: 16.2 billion dollars account for 4.2 percent
Fruits, nuts: 12.5 billion dollars accounts for 3.3 percent
Iron, steel: with 10.8 billion dollars stands at 2.8 percent
Meat: 10.6 billion dollars accounts for 2.8 percent
Articles of iron or steel: stand at 9.4 billion dollars accounting for 2.4 percent
Spain's top ten exports accounted for more than half of the total value of its global shipments which is 53.7 percent.
Mineral fuels, including oil, were the fastest-growing export category among the top ten, with a 100 percent increase since 2020.
Iron and steel came in second with a 69.6 percent increase in export sales.
Spain's pharmaceutical shipments grew at the third-fastest rate, gaining 47.5 percent year over year.
Meat, with a 9.8 percent increase, had the smallest gain among Spain's top ten export categories.
Major Trade Surpluses by Product Category
Positive net exports or a trade balance surplus are represented by the following types of Spanish product shipments.
Net exports are defined as the value of a country's total exports minus the value of its total imports, according to Investopedia.
In a nutshell, net exports are the difference between foreign expenditure on a home country's goods and services and domestic spending on foreign goods and services.
Vehicles: with 14.6 billion dollars came up by 4.9 percent since 2020
Meat: 8.9 billion dollars Up by 6.1 percent
Fruits, nuts: 8.4 billion dollars Up by 16.3 percent
Vegetables: 7.5 billion dollars came up by 19.3 percent
Ceramic products: 4.4 billion dollars up by 32.4 percent
Beverages, spirits, vinegar: 3.8 billion dollars up by 19.6 percent
Articles of iron or steel: 3.4 billion dollars up by 12.3 percent
Vegetable/fruit/nut preparations: 2.5 billion dollars up by 10.8 percent
Perfumes, cosmetics: 1.9 billion dollars up by 42.7 percent
Aircraft, spacecraft: 1.9 billion went down by minus 8 percent
Spain's net exports are very good, especially for vehicles and trucks.
As a result, these cashflows reveal Spain's significant competitive advantages in the automobile product area.
Major Trade Deficits by Product Category
During the year 2021, Spain ran a trade deficit of minus 18 billion dollars. This year's negative trade balance is down 53 percent from the minus 38.3 billion deficit of the previous year.
Exports from Spain that will result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits in 2021 are listed below.
These negative net exports highlight product categories where foreign spending on items produced in Spain lags behind spending on foreign products by Spanish importers.
Mineral fuels including oil: 30 billion dollars up by 62.6 percent since 2020
Electrical machinery, and equipment: 15.3 billion dollars up by 28.3 percent
Machinery including computers: 12.6 billion dollars up by 31.8 percent
Organic chemicals: 8.5 billion dollars up by 22.3 percent
Optical, technical, and medical apparatus: 6.4 billion dollars up by 17 percent
Pharmaceuticals: 4.5 billion dollars up by 40.5 percent
Fish: 3.5 billion dollars up by 17.9 percent
Ores, slag, ash: 3.5 billion dollars up by 58.7 percent
Cereals: 3.4 billion dollars up by 37.9 percent
Iron, steel: 2.7 billion dollars up by 76.9 percent
Under the Mineral fuels including the oil category, Spain has substantially negative net exports and thus large international trade deficits for crude oil, petroleum gases, and coal.
These cashflow shortfalls highlight Spain's competitive disadvantages in the international market for mineral fuels-related products, but they also point to the major potential for the country to strengthen its position in the global economy by focusing on cleaner alternative energy sources.
SOURCES:
https://www.worldstopexports.com/spains-top-10-exports/