The pork industry has consolidated its position as the most important sector for Spanish livestock farming, accounting for over 40% of final livestock production. It comprises around 86,500 farms and 2,600 processors, with most of its production concentrated in just three regions: Catalonia, Aragon and Castile & Leon. Recently, the pork industry has managed to handle the fall in demand due to COVID-19 better than other meat sectors, a result of it being less dependent on the hospitality channel and also the increase in demand from China, whose domestic production has been severely affected by African swine fever (ASF). This situation has allowed Spain’s pork industry to consolidate its position as one of the major players in the EU and the world. The challenges that now need to be tackled by the sector include reducing its pollutant emissions and continuing to strictly apply the necessary biosecurity measures to stop ASF from entering Spain.
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Spain’s agrifood sector is enjoying an expansion in 2025, favoured by improved weather conditions, the containment of production costs and increased demand. All this translates into a gradual increase in production and exports, which have already recovered to pre-pandemic levels, as well as a more dynamic labour market, with job creation and a reduction in temporary employment. The outlook for the coming quarters is encouraging, although significant challenges remain, including the US tariff hikes and the growing impact of extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and fires.
Despite COVID-19, house prices in most advanced economies rebounded in 2020, largely thanks to the expansionary fiscal and monetary policies introduced to revive economic activity.
The olive oil industry is a deeply-rooted, traditional sector in Spain, is one of the most important in the country’s agricultural sector and plays a fundamental role from an economic, environmental, cultural and gastronomic point of view. In addition to being a source of income and employment in many rural areas, it also contributes towards territorial and social cohesion and the fight against depopulation, soil erosion and climate change.
The collapse of tourism in Spain in the wake of COVID-19 has pushed the tourism industry to undertake major price adjustments and the hotel sector has been the greatest exponent of this trend. According to data from the National Statistics Institute, the price per room per day charged by hotels in the summer of 2020 was 16% lower than the previous year. However, this huge price cut does not seem to have played a decisive role in reviving demand in some regions. The change in travel preferences brought about by the pandemic has meant that tourists have opted for nearby, familiar and less congested destinations, focusing less on price and thereby limiting the success of big reductions in hotel prices.
The Spanish economy has kicked off 2025 with widespread growth, albeit slightly more moderate than that of the previous year. Despite the global challenges, such as the protectionist shift in the US, half of its sectors are showing signs of expansion, most notably the chemicals and pharmaceutical industry. This buoyancy across the various sectors, coupled with the country’s competitive advantage in renewable energies, bolsters the resilience of the economy amid an uncertain international environment.
Spain’s real estate market slowed in 2023, but more gently than anticipated. Despite the sharp rise in interest rates, several factors have supported the sector, including a resilient labour market, significant immigration flows, the imbalance between the short supply of new housing and the high demand, and the improvement in household finances. On the supply side, the stabilisation of construction costs has allowed 2023 to end with a similar number of new home construction permits to that of previous years. In the first half of 2024, we expect this gentle slowdown to continue, as interest rates remain high and the economic environment continues to show signs of relative weakness; however, in the second half, as the downward path of interest rates takes hold and economic activity gains traction, we expect the real estate market to regain more vigour.
In this article we use a novel approach to analyse the potential of Spanish renters who could afford to buy a property. For Spain as a whole, we estimate that around 49% of renters have a high enough income to purchase a home. However, only 13% have the necessary savings. While there are significant differences between provinces and municipalities, in all regions it is clear that insufficient savings capacity is the main constraint faced by renters to buying their own home.
Activity in the real estate market is recovering from its extraordinary slump between March and June. House sales and new building permits have regained much of the ground lost in Q3 2020, a trend we expect to consolidate in 2021. House prices, whose trend is still weak but without any extreme corrections, are expected to follow a similar trend in the coming quarters, ending 2021 with a decline of around 2%.
October is the month in which we present the update of our economic forecast scenario. Broadly speaking, the world economy is moving at a higher cruising speed than had been anticipated at the beginning of the year, and the buoyancy of the Spanish economy leads us to revise our growth forecast for 2025 upwards. In addition, in this issue we analyse how Trump 2.0 policies could favour investment flows into the euro area, as well as the relationship between firm size and productivity gaps in the European Union. We also review the recovery of Europe’s tourism sector following the pandemic, we take stock of the summer season for Spain’s tourism sector and we identify which autonomous communities could be the most affected by the US tariff hikes.
The industry suffered a severe setback in 2020 but the data reveal a rapid recovery, awaiting the impact of European funds and with the automotive industry as a benchmark and driver of technological transformation.
Como cada mes, nuestra economista Clàudia Canals explica las claves de la coyuntura económica en el nuevo podcast de CaixaBank Research. A pesar de las medidas tomadas, Europa sigue yendo un paso por detrás de EE. UU. y por supuesto de China, la única gran economía que creció en 2020. En España, los indicadores de actividad correspondientes al 1T muestran que probablemente el PIB se habría contraído, aunque el mercado laboral recuperara en marzo parte del terreno perdido. En este sentido, nuestras previsiones para la economía española (un 6,0% en 2021) se emplazan algo por debajo de las del Gobierno y las del FMI.
En este capítulo repasamos el nuevo escenario de previsiones para la economía española y los retos a los que se enfrenta la Unión Europea en el plano económico. Por el camino, hablamos de la situación financiera de los jóvenes y la reducción de la temporalidad en el mercado laboral español. Una de cal y otra de arena.
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En el podcast de este mes, nuestra economista Clàudia Canals repasa los principales mensajes del número de verano del Informe Mensual: las recomendaciones para impulsar la recuperación de nuestro Economista Jefe, las políticas públicas y económicas de apoyo que se están llevando a cabo en la Unión Europea, y la coyuntura económica internacional y de España.