This paper analyses the extent to which the COVID-19 crisis has shifted the Spanish economy’s international competitiveness, creating new opportunities for Spanish businesses. While the drop in Spanish imports and exports post-COVID-19 (close to 40% year-on-year) was comparable to the contraction sustained in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, the rebound, with year-on-year growth in exports of over 70% in April 2021, has been far more dynamic.
This raises the question of whether Spain is simply catching-up after trade flows were interrupted in 2020 or whether this is the beginning of a significant structural change in Spanish trading patterns. Although it is still too soon to provide a clear answer to that question, initial data point to a structural shift. Spain’s long-standing non-energy trade deficit turned into a surplus in the first half of 2021.
Additionally, the food industry was the sector which made the biggest contribution to the recovery in exports, fuelled mainly by non-EU markets. The fact that the food sector is a core component of Spain’s export effort, and has a history of robust export-oriented productive capacity, is a possible indicator of a structural improvement in the Spanish economy’s international positioning.
23/09/2025
In the framework of the ECOtwins research partnership, the UNESCO Chair in Life Cycle and Climate Change at ESCI-UPF participated in a study now published in the journal Sustainable Production and Consumption that highlights the environmental impacts of various sustainable agricultural products.
17/09/2025
The ESCI-UPF UNESCO Chair researcher Sandra Ceballos-Santos discusses a recent perspective published in the ACS Environmental Au Journal within the framework of the SMART-FOODPRINT Project. The paper explores the vital role of certification schemes and ecolabels in closing the gap in sustainability awareness within the seafood sector.
14/05/2025
The team of the European project Greentour, coordinated by researchers from the UNESCO Chair in Life Cycle and Climate Change (ESCI-UPF), has published a new article in the journal Sustainability presenting an innovative tool to assess the environmental impact of tourism at both destination and establishment levels.
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