Six out of ten Spanish exporting companies did not access European Next Generation funds last year. 32.9% did receive this aid while the remaining 7.1% do not know if the subsidy obtained is from European funds or for another reason.
These are data from the Amec survey of its 350 associates who are companies of all sizes and who are dedicated to exporting. These companies include Telstar, Benito Urban, Comexi, Sorigué, Fluidra, Metalquimia, Roca Sanitario, Ros Roca or S
When asked for the reasons, 38% of the companies that did not benefit from the Next Generation answered that it was because “there was no interesting call”, 28% did not meet the conditions, 18% considered that it was too complex , 10% did not have time and 6% did not know where to look.
According to the general director of Amec, Joan Tristany, “with the European funds a spectacular image was created and great expectations” that have not been met. “It is impossible to start from scratch to make a transforming project,” she added.
Looking ahead to this year, the internationalized industrial companies grouped in Amec lower their export expectations for 2023 after a 2022 that has performed better than expected. The companies expect to sell 11% more abroad, three points less than the previous year, marked by the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. The percentage of companies that expect to increase sales and exports is lower than the results of 2022.
Tristany, has said that 2022 was characterized by the “caution” of companies when making forecasts due to the complexity of the current scenario, marked by the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. This prudence has also lowered the expectations of companies in this year, in which 70% expect to improve the turnover, a reduction compared to 86.5% that has invoiced more in 2022.
