Galician exports came to register a new record in 2022, approaching for the first time in its history to 30,000 million euros (specifically, 29,886 million). This represents 18.3% more sales abroad than in the previous year, which already had the best record so far.

Galicia represents 7.7% of total exports at the national level. Moreover, in the comparison between foreign sales and imports, Galicia closed the year as the third best trade balance in absolute terms, with a positive balance of more than 2,800 million euros, compared to Spain as a whole, which ended in the red.

By sectors, the increases recorded by key industries for Galicia with respect to sales in 2021 stand out:

• Textile sector (+21.1%)
• Chemical industry (+47.3%)
• Machinery and mechanical appliances (+45.4%)
• Metallurgy (+16.5%)

With regard to the distribution by country, the increases in sales to the Netherlands (+86%), Germany (+30.9%), Portugal (+27.4%) and Belgium (+25.7%) stand out. Outside Europe, sales in the US (+21.2%), Mexico (+48.4%) and the Middle East (+52.5%) stood out.

Trade Mission Plan 2023

The promotion of innovation, the attraction of international talent, support and the dissemination of success stories are some of the lines of action that are being worked on to continue strengthening Galician exports, within the framework of the Internationalisation Strategy of the Xunta de Galicia.

In this context, a new call for applications for the Trade Missions Plan, promoted by the regional government through the Galician Institute for Economic Promotion (Igape) and in collaboration with the Galician chambers of commerce, is due to be launched.

Its aim is for around 600 companies to take part in international promotion actions, favouring their positioning in foreign markets through their participation in direct business missions abroad or in trade fairs and exhibition events. With an investment of 2.3 million euros, the programme includes two lines: one aimed at small and medium-sized companies and the other specifically for large companies, in order to contribute to the expansion of smaller companies.

The Trade Missions Plan foresees more than 30 priority markets, including China, India, Israel, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, Morocco, Brazil, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and Canada, as well as other countries for which their suitability for Galician companies is justified.