Spanish market overview
The service sector plays a major role in Spain's economy, accounting for about 76% of GDP. Tourism is an important core of the country's economy, as it is Spain's main source of income, and the country itself is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.
According to EIU forecasts, economic activity in Spain is expected to slow down in 2023. Economic growth will be limited by high inflation, which will reduce the purchasing power of the population.
It is important to note that Spain ranks 20th among Slovenia's trading partners in terms of trade in goods in 2022.
Industrial sector
The industrial sector contributes 21% of GDP. Spain is dominated by textiles and food processing, iron and steel, marine technology and mechanical engineering. Electronic components and ICT are also an important growth segment.
Spanish industrial production grew by 2.9% in 2022. Analysts forecast it to grow by 0.2% in 2023, and by 2.2% and 1.7% in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
Market opportunities
Spain is one of the largest recipients of funds from the European Union's Recovery Fund. In the period from 2021 to 2027, the country plans to receive 140 billion euros in the form of loans and grants. These resources will be used to implement the government's digitalization strategy, which aims to increase Spain's international competitiveness.
It is important to note that in 2022, the main products exported from Slovenia to Spain were electrical machinery and equipment, vehicles, pharmaceutical products, aluminum, rubber and rubber products.
In addition, there are other sectors offering good export opportunities. These include IT services, green technology, health care, e-commerce and industrial machinery.
Spanish Industry – Renewable Energy Sources (RES)
In May 2021, Spain's Climate Change and Energy Transition Law came into force. The long-term goal is to achieve climate neutrality and decarbonize the economy by 2050, by using 100% renewable energy.
In 2022, the total revenue of the Spanish renewable energy market amounted to €11.5 billion, corresponding to an average annual growth rate of 3.8% between 2017 and 2022. In the first three quarters of 2022, Spain ranked third among European energy exporters, behind only Germany and Sweden.
The renewable energy market grew at a compound annual growth rate of 8.3% between 2017 and 2022, reaching 120,055.7 GWh in 2022. The market is expected to grow to 159,144.3 GWh by the end of 2027, at a compound annual growth rate of 5.8% from 2023 to 2027.
The value of the Spanish renewable energy market is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 10.8% between 2023 and 2027, reaching 19.3 billion euros by 2027.
The Spanish government plans to achieve 160 GW of total installed renewable energy capacity by 2030, as well as 74% of electricity generation from renewable energy sources by 2030 and 100% by 2050.
The country has adopted a detailed approach to phase out coal power by 2025, decommission oil-fired power plants by 2030, and completely phase out nuclear power by 2035.
Wind power is the largest segment of the Spanish RES market, accounting for 50.7% of the total market. The hydropower segment accounts for another 24.7% of the market.
Spain accounts for 5.7% of the value of the European RES market and Germany accounts for another 12.4%.
Other promising market sectors
ICT
In 2020, the Spanish government adopted the Digital Strategy 2025, which aims primarily to drive the country's digital transformation. It includes measures for digital connectivity, improved cybersecurity, digitization of public administrations and integration of artificial intelligence technologies.
Digital transformation and the adoption of cloud technologies are driving investment in data centers in Spain. Major technology companies such as AWS, IBM, Microsoft, Google and Oracle have announced in recent years their intention to open cloud computing centers in the country. According to the Spanish Data Center Association, investment in data center development in Madrid is expected to reach 6.4 billion euros.
There are also prospects in cybersecurity, energy efficiency solutions for various industries and digital twin technology, which is increasingly being adopted by Spanish industrial companies.
Green technologies
Demand for services and technologies in the areas of environmental protection, waste management, water treatment, soil and air pollution control will increase in the coming years. Spain has a strong commitment in the fight against climate change and environmental protection, and plans to invest in these areas. Digitalization will be one of the priority areas.
Health care
State healthcare institutions account for about 70% of the healthcare sector and are the main buyers of medical equipment and consumables.
Promising areas are:
- replacement or modernization of high-tech equipment and infrastructure
- accelerated transition to increasing digitalization
- big data
- expansion of public-private partnerships
There is also high demand in the area of eHealth technologies.
Sources:
- EIU
- Factiva
- MarketLine Industry Profiles
- Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia
- International Trade Center (ITC)