Extremadura’s export sector gains weight in the regional GDP
A revealing fact about the growth of the Extremaduran economy is the increasing weight of exports in GDP. What are your plans in this area?
Indeed, exports from Extremadura are growing by 9.2% year-on-year and by 3.3% up to September. In Spain as a whole, the increase up to September was only 0.3%. The trade balance surplus up to that month soared to 595 million. A year ago it was 547 million, 9% higher. The coverage rate up to September stands at 135%. Within the EU, exports have fallen by 1.2%, maintaining a negative trend over the last three quarters.
The growth in GDP and consolidation of exports is one of the major commitments of María Guardiola’s Government, where we will work to increase the weight of the Extremaduran export sector in the regional economy, diversifying the destinations of Extremaduran exports of goods and services, improving the qualification and professionalisation of personnel working in the field of internationalisation and promoting qualified employment in foreign trade, through various aid programmes.
All this with the aim of favouring a competitive environment for internationalised Extremaduran companies, which will allow access to and use of international programmes, in which Extremadura’s products and resources will be promoted abroad. To this end, Extremaduran companies can count on the support provided by the 11 commercial delegations that cover 22 regional areas abroad.
The importance of digitalisation for the economic fabric and GDP is a reality. What do you have in mind in this regard?
Digital transformation is undoubtedly the lever for transforming the productive fabric, and making it more competitive, scalable, with more international projection, opening it up and bringing it closer to new markets with a globalisation perspective, thus generating more employment.
This is going to be the legislature of the digital transformation of the region, where we are working on five axes:
Development of a digital ecosystem for the creation of jobs with high added value and qualifications.
Generation, attraction and consolidation of digital talent, through an ambitious Digital Talent Plan.
Attraction of companies and digital nomads.
Help through digital transformation to improve competitiveness and to increase the turnover and number of employees of regional companies.
Support for technology-based entrepreneurship, with a high impact on employability.
