The chemical products sector has experienced a challenging November, marked by a significant decrease in exports, according to the latest data published by ICEX in the Monthly Foreign Trade Report. The data published yesterday shows that chemical products are one of the sectors with the greatest weight in terms of exports in November, among which we find raw materials, despite the fact that in the month of November the number of exports fell by more than 9 points.
In November, however, essential and perfumed oils recorded a slight increase of 0.2 points compared to the same period last year. This sub-sector was the only one that was saved within exports included in chemical products, which fell by 41.2% year-on-year. Exports of essential and perfumed oils were mainly destined for France, Germany, Portugal and Poland. Within chemicals, there is one category, which recorded an almost insignificant increase (0.1 points) in organic chemicals. The destinations of these exports were Panama, Greece, Germany and Japan.
Catalonia was the region that contributed most to the export of chemical products, accounting for almost 30% of total exports in this sector. The second largest contributor in terms of volume of chemical exports was the Madrid region, with 28% of the total figure.
Clothing also suffered in November. Exports grouped under consumer manufactured goods fell by 1.5% year-on-year, largely due, as the ICEX report indicates, to a drop in clothing sales to the main countries that demand these exports: United States, Mexico, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Clothing has also been one of the sectors that has influenced the increase in the year-on-year rate of change of imports. However, some light was shed by Vietnam, which, with 0.3 total points, increased its imports in clothing and footwear.