Catalan exports closed 2025 with a record high of €100.779 billion, 0.6% more than the previous year, according to data published this Thursday by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business. Despite the uncertainty surrounding Donald Trump's tariffs and the ensuing trade war, sales abroad have exceeded €100 billion for the third consecutive year. As for purchases, imports totaled €114.3598 billion, a 3.3% increase. Therefore, Catalonia's trade balance last year was -€13.5812 billion. Despite the new international landscape marked by increased protectionism, this is the third consecutive year that Catalan exports have surpassed €100 billion. According to calculations by Accion – the Catalan government's competitiveness agency – exports to the United States have fallen by 3.4% in 2025, while the diversification of Catalan companies in countries such as South Korea (+25.2%), China (+13.7%), and India (+4.4%) stands out. Accion has highlighted that the growth in exports in 2025 is due to the reorientation of exports to Asia (+7.6%), Africa (+12.5%), and the Middle East (+15.3%). Conversely, declines were recorded in Latin America (-14%) and North America (-2.2%), while exports remained stable in the European Union (+0.8%). According to the Minister of Business and Labor, Miquel Sàmper, these results demonstrate "the resilience and diversification capacity of Catalan companies in an adverse, uncertain, and complex global environment." "The fact that Catalonia has once again surpassed €100 billion in exports in this context demonstrates the international strength of our business sector and highlights its ability to continue opening doors when others close," he stated. The Minister of Business and Labor also emphasized "the Government's efforts to support Catalan businesses in this new environment through the 'We Respond' Plan and the Action instruments." In this regard, he announced that the network of 40 Action Foreign Trade and Investment Offices worldwide has worked on nearly 3,000 internationalization projects for Catalan companies, 17% more than in 2024. He also noted that the Government has designed a new strategy for 2026-2030. Developed through an unprecedented participatory process involving over 110 companies and organizations, the plan aims to attract 2,000 new exporting companies, reach 19,000 regular exporters (those exporting for four consecutive years), and increase the number of Catalan companies with subsidiaries to 3,500. By sector, semi-manufactured goods exports continue to dominate, accounting for more than a third of last year's sales. The chemical sector stands out, with €29.73 billion in foreign sales, representing 29.5% of all Catalan exports, but a 2.8% decrease compared to the previous year. The second largest export sector was capital goods, with almost €16.73 billion, representing 16.6% of the total and a 9.7% increase compared to 2014. The food, beverage, and tobacco sector rounded out the top three, with exports totaling almost €16.203 billion the previous year.

Tariffs on European products imposed by US President Donald Trump have affected 2.9% of Catalan exports abroad, according to data published Tuesday by Acció, the Catalan government's foreign trade promotion agency. Exemptions to the trade tariffs agreed upon between US and European Union authorities have allowed a third of Catalan products sold in the US market to remain duty-free. According to calculations, of the €4.35 billion exported from Catalonia to the US, approximately €1.43 billion—or 33% of the total—remain tariff-free. Conversely, the remaining €2.92 billion "were subject to the tariffs" imposed by Trump, according to a statement from Acció. Compared to total Catalan exports outside of Spain, this latter figure represents 2.9% of the total exports by Catalan companies abroad. The effect of the tariffs, however, has been limited. In fact, Catalan exports to the US between January and October of last year fell by 1.9% compared to the same period in 2014. "The products most affected, for the moment, have been perfumes and cosmetics, jewelry, iron and steel manufactures, clothing, motorcycles, and meat," Acció adds in its statement.

The Catalan government confirmed on Friday two positive cases of African swine fever (ASF) in two wild boars found dead this week in the municipality of Cerdanyola del Vallès (Vallès Occidental), and has therefore activated its contingency plan against the disease, according to a statement from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The plan's measures include an immediate ban on pork exports outside the EU. These two cases are currently the only ones found in Spain, so there is no evidence that the disease is affecting any farms in Catalonia. "So far, no outbreaks have been detected in domestic animals in Catalonia," the Ministry of Agriculture stated in a press release. However, at a press conference, the Catalan Minister of Agriculture, Òscar Ordeig, stated that there is a "high" probability of new cases being found in Catalonia. The last case detected in the state was in 1994.

"From an economic standpoint, it's certainly not a good agreement, but it's more or less tolerable. The political cost is another matter." With these words, he described the trade agreement between Brussels and Washington Ignacio García Bercero, analyst at the think tank Bruegel and for 35 years EU trade negotiator. At an event this Thursday at the Círculo de Economía (Circle of Economy) on the impact of tariffs, García Bercero lamented the European Commission's strategy in the face of the aggressive trade offensive by the US government under Donald Trump: "It has given a certain image of weakness to the EU," he opined, since the EU has ended up signing an agreement that is "just an agreement."

Cava could do more to boost exports, especially from smaller wineries. "They're not interested in the international market," stated María Naranjo, director of the food industry at ICEX (the Spanish State Foreign Trade Agency), during the 2nd Cava Meeting, an international gathering organized by the Cava Designation of Origin (DO) in Avinyonet del Penedès (Alt Penedès) that brought together more than 100 wineries. Although 64% of Cava production was already destined for export in 2024, Naranjo perceives a "lack of international focus" among smaller wineries. ICEX considers two wines "iconic" in Spain, Sherry and Cava, and has specific projects to increase their visibility. In the case of Cava alone, Naranjo stated that ICEX has had to cancel scheduled activities due to a "lack of business interest" from the wineries invited to participate. These events were to be held in countries such as the United Kingdom, Japan, China, and the United States. Regarding the reasons, Naranjo admitted that small wineries "run out of time" trying to keep up with everything, but there are also solutions for developing an export-oriented approach, such as the one implemented in the Rías Baixas DO, where companies with international departments work for several wineries simultaneously. Only Cavas with superior aging potential—at least 18 months—participated in the Cava Meeting, and Naranjo added that, despite the existence of these wine "gems," wineries also "lack the confidence to venture abroad." The two souls of the DO

He president of the DO Cava, Javier PagésHe stated that abroad, "it's unacceptable that people say we haven't visited them," which he described as "unforgivable," and called for seizing the opportunity presented by the growing consumption of sparkling wines, which is bucking the general decline in wine sales. The meeting also highlighted the diverse perspectives within the Cava industry: while Luciano García-Carrión, owner of the group that produces Jaume Serra Cava, argued that selling more bottles is "the best scenario" for everyone in the sector, smaller wineries called for better differentiation between the various regions that make up the state-owned Cava region, as well as for longer aging processes.

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The Barcelona Chamber of Commerce estimates that the trade war launched by US President Donald Trump will have an impact of around €1.055 billion on the Catalan economy this year, equivalent to around three-tenths of the Catalan gross domestic product (GDP, the indicator that measures the size of an economy).

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Catalonia has an open economy clearly focused on foreign markets. But in 2024, Catalan exports slowed down and, despite reaching the second best historical figure with 100,132 million euros of sales abroad, the fact is that there was a decrease of 0.5% compared to 2023, when the historical record of 100,683 was reached. In fact, it is the first decrease in exports to Catalonia since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic slowed down international trade.

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Catalan exports' record-breaking year continues, as one of the country's leading economic sectors announced its figures. Foreign sales of agri-food products exceeded €12bn for the first time last year, according to data shared this Monday by Prodeca, Promotora dels Aliments Catalans. Specifically, this industry exported €12.9bn, 12% more than in 2020, when the pandemic slowed growth of foreign trade. The Generalitat's Secretary of Food, Carmel Mòdol, has celebrated these record figures and, above all, that they have been achieved in a complicated context. "The agri-food sector is irrefutably consolidated as a driving force of the Catalan economy, despite the geopolitical context, the energy crises and the end of the pandemic," he said.

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Before the shock of covid, Catalan exports had a strong momentum, with a decade of breaking historical records. After a tough first year pandemic for foreign trade, in which foreign sales fell by 10%, they are now once again at record highs. In 2021, Catalan exports achieved the unprecedented figure in the historical series (dating back to 1993) of €80,538m, 21% more than the previous year and 9% more than in 2019. Catalonia was by far the autonomous community in Spain which exported the most –the second was Madrid with €39,866m, practically half– and accounted for 25% in the state total, according to data published on Thursday by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism.

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Catalonia has historically been an economy which is open to the outside world, but in recent years it has taken a decisive step to focus on exports. So much so that, in a context as difficult as the pandemic, in 2021 will have surpassed its record with a total of €78bn, according to estimates by the Generalitat. This figure is 6% higher than the previous record, which was 2019, and 18% higher than last year, 2020, when the coronavirus managed to practically stop world trade during the first months of the pandemic.

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Catalan exports have managed to dodge the different covid variants for the time being, including Omicron, which is currently straining the health system. In fact, despite the restrictions at the beginning of the year, in summer and over Christmas, sales abroad will close the year with the best figures ever. The Catalan government claims exports will reach the record figure of €78bn. In other words, they will exceed by 6% figures obtained in 2019, the last year before the arrival of the pandemic. In addition, they will be 18% higher than 2020 figures, when restrictions were tougher, especially during the second quarter, when Spain was in lockdown and ports and airports worldwide were closed for several months. With these forecasts the sales of Catalan companies abroad will record the highest value since records began in 1993.

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