Sales of the Andalusian cluster grow 53% in the first 10 months of 2022, to 1,492 million, 37% of the national total

The Andalusian aerospace industry has experienced strong growth in its exports in the first ten months of 2022, 53% compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching a turnover of 1,492 million euros. These figures make it the region that has contributed the most to the growth of Spanish exports so far this year, accounting for half of this national increase, which stands at 34%, almost 19 points below the rise in Andalusia.

In this way, the Andalusian aerospace industry reflects a clear recovery, after the paralysis it experienced on a global scale with the pandemic, ranking sixth in the Andalusian export basket, with 4.2% of the total.

The protagonists of this growth are the 65 exporting companies in the sector that are accounted for in the first ten months of 2022, which also grow by 1.6% compared to the same period in 2021. 42% of them (27) are regular exporters (four consecutive years exporting), which gives an idea of the high degree of internationalization of this industry and its competitiveness in the world, concentrating 99% of the sector’s sales.

When developing their international strategy in 2022, nine out of ten of these export companies have trusted Extenda, a public company of the Junta de Andalucía integrated into TRADE. Specifically, there have been 59 companies that have participated in the thirty actions organized by Extenda abroad, in a coordinated strategy with the Andalucía Aerospace cluster, in which the Aerospace & Defense Meetings Seville 2022 fair has been the reference event and reactivation of the sector.

With this action abroad, Andalusia ranks as the second exporting region in Spain of this complex industry, with almost four of the ten euros (37%) of Spanish sales, (3,996 million euros), only behind Madrid (1,788 million), which, however, leads by almost 40 growth points (53% compared to 14%), and well ahead of the third, Castilla-La Mancha, whose exports stand at only 198 million (5% national).

The importance of this industry for the Andalusian economy is also reflected in the contribution of 700 million euros of positive balance that makes the trade balance with the outside of the region with a coverage rate of 188%, which is 82 points superior to the Spanish one (106%).

These good figures produced by the sector in the first ten months of the year have contributed to those of the last month recorded, October, when the Andalusian aeronautical industry invoiced 190 million euros, eight times more than in the same month of the previous year (+735 %), thanks especially to the boost in exports in the United Kingdom, where it multiplied its figures by 26 (+2,502%) and Germany, where the data multiplied by 15 (+1,435%).

The highest growth in America, Asia and Africa

The aeronautical industry also brings a high degree of geographical diversification to Andalusian exports as a whole, having countries from four continents among its top ten export destinations. Seven of them multiply their exports compared to the same period of the previous year, registering the highest growth in markets of America, Asia and Africa.

In this way, in the United States, its sixth world destination and first non-European, exports doubled (+107%) to 75 million, 5% of the total. Even so, Mali is the country that is growing the most of the top 20 markets, multiplying its sales by 718 (+71,721%) to 29.9 million, which allows it to enter the Top 10 of the ranking. In addition, there is another African destination in the top 10, Senegal, in ninth place, where Andalusian sales reached 31 million.

In addition, the second and third fastest growing countries of the first 20 are from Asia: Bangladesh, which multiplied its data by 229 (+22,824%) to 32 million, placing it as the eighth market; and the Philippines, which multiplied its exports by 366 (+36,592%) to 29.6 million, to be in eleventh place.

Even so, the first markets for Andalusian aeronautics are European, led by France, with 359 million euros, 24% of the total, and an interannual growth of 34%. In second place is Germany, with 277 million euros, 18.5%, which multiplies its data by five (+421%): It is followed by Belgium, with 263 million, which represents 17.6% of the total, and registers a drop of 2.4%.

In fourth position is the United Kingdom, with 167 million, 11.2%, which triples its figure (+262%); and, in fifth, Turkey, with 130 million (8.7%), which multiplies its sales by eleven (+1.100%). In seventh place is the Czech Republic, with 48 million, 3.2% and a decrease of 51%.

Seville leads, and five provinces with sales

The province of Seville accounts for most of these exports, with 1,475 million euros, 54% more than in the first ten months of 2021. In addition, there are already five provinces that register export figures, with significant growth.

Malaga is the second in turnover, with 6.6 million euros and an 86% increase in sales; followed by Cádiz, with 6.5 million, down 41%. In fourth position is Córdoba, with 4 million and a decrease of 26.3%; followed by Huelva, with 482,000 euros, which has tripled its data (+211%) compared to the same period of the previous year. The provinces of Jaén (38,000 euros) and Almería (26,000 euros) also register figures, although lower.

Exported products

Within the Andalusian aeronautical industry, the first chapter in sales is that of other aircraft (helicopters and airplanes), space vehicles (satellites) and their suborbital vehicles, with 1,127 million euros, 76% of the total and a growth of 76 %.

It is followed by the parts of the devices, with 362 million and 24.2% of the total; parachute, with 2 million and a drop of 46%; and devices for launching aircraft, landing on aircraft carriers and the like, and ground flight training devices, with 1.6 million euros and a decrease of 43%.

Extenda: ADM aerospace benchmark in Spain

From January to November 2022, Extenda has carried out almost thirty actions to promote the Andalusian aeronautical sector in international markets, with the participation of 59 companies from the region, a number equivalent to 90.8% of the region regular exporters (65).

Among these actions, the Aerospace & Defense Meetings-ADM Sevilla stands out, the international reference fair for the aerospace sector in Spain that Extenda has organized every two years since 2012 and that in 2022 celebrated its sixth edition, with a record number of 1,251 participating professionals from 29 countries, which undoubtedly contributes to boosting the reactivation of the Spanish and Andalusian aerospace industry in particular.

In ADM Seville, held from June 7 to 9, a total of 323 companies participated, holding 8,500 business meetings in b2b format. In addition, the records achieved by participating professionals and countries represented demonstrates its contribution in recovering the international weight of the Andalusian cluster after the pothole caused by the pandemic.

ADM is also the main networking event for Andalusian companies with this world industry, to the point that two out of three of the companies attending were foreigners, thus consolidating its nature as an international fair and its consideration as a benchmark event of the aerospace sector in Spain and the most important in southern Europe.

On the other hand, Extenda has also organized throughout the year various actions for the international promotion of the sector, at fairs such as Airtec Munich (Germany), Farnborough International Airshow (United Kingdom), ILA Berlin (Germany), Aeromart Toulousse (France) o Aerospace Meetings Casablanca (Morocco); and with meetings such as the one held in Seville for the aerospace sector with buyers from the United States or direct trade missions to Turkey and the US.