Spanish fashion finds a lifeline abroad: in 2020 the number of companies with a presence in international markets grew by 10%

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In one of the most convulsive years for the fashion sector, some 2,126 Spanish companies found a lifeline in international markets. During 2020, the number of exporting companies grew by 10.2%, up to 22,896, which is one of the highest increases in recent years, according to data from Icex España Exportación de Inversiones and which collects Moda.es.

These figures that invite hope, clash, however, with the bad data of foreign sales, which during the year of COVID-19, fell by 18.5%, to 21.2 billion euros, which was the largest drop since records and the first since 2009.

Despite the complexity of the year, what is certain is that this increase in the number of exporting companies is one of the highest figures in recent years. During 2019, customs recorded foreign sales of 20,770 companies in the fashion sector, 1.8% more than in the previous year.

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But aside from this discreet growth, in 2018, the figure fell by 11.9% when 2,746 exporting companies were recorded less than in the previous year in the fashion sector. By contrast, 2017 set an all-time record: a total of 23,153 fashion companies sold their products on international markets, 4% more than in the previous year.

However, what happened in 2020 does not cease to be anecdotal due to the complicated economic context. In fact, during the global financial crisis, 15,000 exporting companies in the sector stagnated until 2011, despite the fact that the value of sales increased practically every year. The worst figure corresponded to 2009, when the number of exporting companies in Spain fell by 4.2%, to just 14,635 companies.

However, during the first months of confinement, the number of Spanish exporting companies contracted, with a year-on-year fall of 8.5% in March, a slump that intensified in April with a drop of 35.5%. However, as the year progressed, the sector's growth continued uninterruptedly.

However, the foreign activity of fashion companies began to recover in June, with a rise of 1.8% and even recorded double-digit increases, such as the one recorded in September, of 10.2%. October was the month in which most Spanish fashion companies recorded sales abroad, with 8,020 companies.