The Diplomat
87.1% of Spanish exporting companies expect to increase (36.3%) or maintain (50.8%) their exports this year, while 12.9% foresee a decrease, as reflected in the ‘Observatory of Business Competitiveness on Internationalization’, prepared by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce.
The Observatory, presented yesterday at the UIMP Santander campus, reflects that foreign sales evolved favorably for most companies in 2023, and this trend is expected to continue in 2024.
The president of the Chamber of Spain, José Luis Bonet, recalled that in 1975 exports represented 11% of Spanish GDP, while today they represent more than 42%. Furthermore, in 2022, almost half of the increase in GDP was a consequence of the external sphere, Europa Press reports.
According to the Observatory, 77.6% of exporting companies do so regularly, which means that internationalization has become a regular part of the business strategy for many Spanish companies. In these export companies, 44.9% of their production is sold abroad.
The growth of business size (38.3%), the generation of new opportunities in the market (37.8%), greater resistance to crises and risk reduction (36.3%), as well as an increase in Business profitability (34.8%) are the main benefits derived from the internationalization of companies.
Along with the benefits already mentioned, Spanish companies also encounter obstacles when going abroad. Among the main barriers are the amount and complexity of bureaucratic procedures (3.13 points on a scale of 5), the high cost of selling abroad (2.98 points) and the difficulty in obtaining information about the destination markets ( 2.84 points).
To overcome these barriers, internationalized companies value advice and support (42.8%), promotional actions (participation in trips, missions, fairs, etc.) (38.8%), financial support and access to financing channels (32.3%), and free trade agreements (29.9%).
Nearly half of internationalized companies (46.3%) are aware of internationalization support programs, and more than half of them (54.8%) have used these available resources. The most used are advisory/consulting services (56.9%) and initiation programs to internationalization (52.9%).
However, companies still claim to need more information about business opportunities (55.2%), customs procedures and controls (55.2%), requirements and formalities (48.8%), logistical and operational elements (45.8%). %), and taxation and taxation (39.8%).
