The citrus fruit sector is one of the most important in the Spanish agrifood system and a leading player in international export markets. Its production structure is typically atomised, making it more difficult to modernise the farms, and the sector has some important challenges to tackle. In particular, strong competition from non-EU countries at a time when production costs are rising sharply, accentuated by a prolonged drought and the war in Ukraine. In any case, the figures suggest that Spain’s citrus production continues to be the most competitive in the world, thanks to its hard-won reputation as a product of the highest quality produced under the strictest health standards.
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The wine sector plays a fundamental role in Spain, not only in economic terms due to its contribution to activity, employment and exports but also because of how extensively vines are grown and its regional importance, making it a driving force for environmental conservation and rural development. Spain is the world’s second largest exporter of wine in volume and third in value, although in recent years we have seen greater penetration in North America and Asia, markets that tend to buy wine of higher value. After the COVID-19 crisis, wineries and cooperatives must tackle important medium-term challenges and adapt to the new consumption habits of a younger, more digital and environmentally aware public. This strategy includes a commitment to organic farming, online sales and wine tourism.
Agrifood is the main sector for Spanish industry. The sector has strong roots in Spain, generates stable employment and is very open to other markets. It also tends to have a highly fragmented business structure dominated by small firms and a few large companies that are less productive than their European counterparts. Increasing company size and boosting the productivity of larger firms through investment in R&D and adopting new technologies would help to improve the competitiveness of a key industry for the economy and society as a whole.
Technology is advancing at a frenetic pace and offers the agrifood chain a large number of opportunities to make its production more efficient and sustainable. Moreover, the arrival of COVID-19 has shown that the most digitalised companies were able to continue their activities more readily than the rest. In this article we examine the degree of popularity of the different digital technologies used in the primary sector and agrifood industry based on a text analysis of over 2 million tweets on Twitter. All these technologies are essential to create a connected ecosystem that will make up the Food Chain 4.0 of the future.
The Spanish economy has shown a positive tone in the opening months of 2025, driven, above all, by the revival of domestic demand. Although growth is expected to be slightly more moderate than last year, the decline in inflation and interest rates will act as important support factors in an international context marked by uncertainty. The CaixaBank Research Sectoral Indicator reflects this buoyancy in the opening months of the year and shows an increase in the number of sectors in expansion, although the picture is somewhat mixed.
The US’ tariff hikes of between 10 and 20 pps should have a limited impact on the Spanish economy, less than in other advanced economies, but some sectors could be more affected.
The inflationary episode currently being experienced by the Spanish economy is due to a major shock in costs. While the focus has been on the rise in prices for energy and agricultural commodities, since mid-2021 a large number of key raw materials and intermediate goods used in a wide range of production processes have also become considerably more expensive. This article shows how the higher price of these products has affected manufacturers’ operating costs, forcing them to pass on part of this increase to their customers so as not to jeopardise their economic viability.
La economía española ha alcanzado ya el punto de inflexión que tanto estábamos esperando. Todos los indicadores económicos del 2T 2021 muestran un notable rebote de la actividad económica al levantarse gran parte de las restricciones a la actividad y la movilidad gracias a la aceleración de la campaña de vacunación.
The tourism sector once again breaks records and consolidates its role as a driver of growth
Tourism
In 2024, tourism GDP experienced another year of significant growth, with an estimated increase of 6% in real terms, roughly doubling that of the economy as a whole. This performance was driven by a sharp rise in the number of foreign tourists and their average spending, thanks to a recovery of British and long-haul tourism. On the other hand, Spanish tourists are now travelling abroad again, resuming pre-pandemic levels. In this favourable context, the hotel sector continues to enjoy very strong demand, which has allowed it to continue to raise its occupancy levels and its profitability to new highs. Looking ahead in 2025, Spain’s tourism sector will grow at a slightly more moderate rate, although it still has significant support factors to continue expanding and we expect it to remain one of the main growth drivers of the economy as a whole.
Negocios TV entrevista a Clàudia Canals sobre la situación del mercado laboral norteamericano y el fenómeno de la «gran renuncia».
The outlook for the Spanish economy and its sectors in 2025 and 2026 is strong. Although there remains a high level of uncertainty surrounding the rules that govern global trade, we expect Spain’s GDP to grow by 2.4% in 2025 and by 2.0% in 2026, in a scenario in which the trade tensions remain contained.
Financial inclusion guarantees people access to an appropriate level of financial services. The considerable decline in the number of bank branches in Spain in recent years has increased the risk of financial exclusion for some customers in rural areas. These customers tend to prefer a physical bank branch and specialised offers, especially in the business segment. Within this context, the role played by rural bank branches is twofold: they allow the banking sector to specialised offers in economic sectors critical to large parts of the region, such as agriculture, whilst also maintaining a commitment to financial inclusion.
Spain’s agrifood sector is typically focused on exports: The range of agrifood products exported by Spain is getting wider and covering more destinations. However, another dimension should also be taken into account: export complexity, a concept that measures the knowledge intensity required to produce exported goods. Because not only the volume of exports is important but also what is exported.
Foreign demand has been one of the factors supporting Spain's real estate sector throughout its recovery. House purchases by foreigners have tripled in just 10 years, reaching the substantial figure of 65,300 homes in 2018, 12.6% of the total. This article looks at the foreign demand for housing in Spain as well as factors that will affect the trend over the coming quarters.
The recent boom in Spain’s international tourism is having a very positive impact on the growth of the economy and of employment. However, it also has repercussions for the resident population that are not always positive, such as greater congestion due to the larger influx of tourists in certain parts of Spain. This has rekindled the debate on the need to move towards higher quality tourism.
The slowdown in exports has been one of the main sources of weakness in the Spanish economy in recent quarters. Manufacturing is particularly dependent on sales abroad and has been the epicentre of the deterioration in exports of goods.
Spain’s agrifood sector is facing a new trade scenario marked by the US tariff hikes, with the rate currently set at 15% for European products pending clarification regarding possible strategic exceptions. In a context of increasing protectionism and weakening multilateralism, the sector is seeking ways to adapt by diversifying its markets and pursuing bilateral agreements through the EU. The agreement with Mercosur opens up opportunities for key products such as olive oil, wine and pork meat, but it also poses risks for competition in sensitive sectors such as beef and rice. Despite this, the competitiveness and diversification of Spain’s agrifood sector places it in a favourable position to tackle this challenging environment.
After the recent boom in tourism, of 2018 growth of international tourism slowed down in all regions of the world, with the exception of the Middle East where it increased substantially.
Our Sectoral Indicator reflects a widespread improvement across the various sectors in 2024, particularly in some branches of manufacturing, such as the chemicals, pharmaceutical and paper industries, which have benefited from lower energy costs and an improvement in exports. By contrast, the automotive sector has slowed sharply over the course of this year, following the recovery experienced in 2023.