WorldCity, Annual Report: No. 20 Spain- Robust exchange with Spain | Connecting Local Business Leaders To The Global Economy

Annual Report: No. 20 Spain- Robust exchange with Spain

June 16th, 2006

The automotive sector was at the forefront of a growing trade exchange between Georgia and Spain.

Spain shipped nearly 13 percent more cargo to Georgia in 2005 than it had a year earlier.

The import growth came against a trade backdrop that saw Georgia and the European nation exchange nearly $926 million in goods, an increase of 8.8 percent compared with 2004. The flows favored Georgia, which exported $560 million in goods – a gain of more than 6 percent – and imported $366 million.

Rank	Top Georgia Imports from Spain	Value	Change
	Total all commodities	$366,195,782.00	12.90%
1	Motor vehicle parts	$50,746,713.00	67.00%
2	Motorcycles, mopeds, cycles with auxiliary motors	$22,078,500.00	44.80%
3	Polyethers, expoxides and polyesters, primary forms	$18,765,351.00	80.40%
4	Electrical supplies, apparatus, less than 1000V	$9,511,288.00	31.70%
5	Rubber tires	$9,150,908.00	6971.70%

Leading the state’s exports were regional jet parts, which rose by a third to close the year at $39 million. Exports of chemical wood pulp saw even greater gains, rising more than 42 percent to nearly $38 million. Exports of yet another paper industry commodity – kraft paper and paperboard – more than doubled.

Georgia also shipped nearly $35 million-worth of cargo vehicles to Spain in 2005, but that represented a nearly 35 percent drop from 2004. However, another portion of the automotive industry saw good returns. Exports of automobile parts soared 1,231 percent to reach nearly $29 million.

Rank	Top Georgia exports to Spain	Value	Change
	Total all commodities	$559,547,789.00	6.20%
1	Regional jet parts	$39,010,486.00	32.70%
2	Chemical wood pulp	$37,626,279.00	42.10%
3	Motor vehicles for transporting goods	$34,897,020.00	-34.60%
4	Kraft paper & paperboard	$33,091,069.00	108.40%
5	Motor vehicle parts	$28,897,498.00	1231.80%

Among Georgia’s imports, tires zoomed up 145 spots in the list of commodities to become Georgia’s fifth most valuable import from Spain. The state received more than $9 million-worth of Spanish tires last year, compared with $129,000 in 2004.

Georgia is an important entry point for automotive parts destined for factories and distribution centers throughout the southern United States. Imports of automotive parts – the state’s most valuable commodity from Spain – were also on the rise, jumping 67 percent to end the year worth nearly $51 million.