Benchmark Study 1

IPP 1st BENCHMARK REPORT
Services to companies: about 450 companies specializing in providing services to other
companies; major activities include technological and productive services, merchandising and
marketing services, IT and data transmission services, corporate consulting services and
operative services.
Domestic trade
Foreign trade: the Valencian Region is situated in an exceptional geographical position and as
such, has connected it to the main trade routes in the Mediterranean, given its open economy
and exporting tradition. Valencian exports represent around 10.3% of total Spanish ones and it
represented 19.361,00 million € in 2008.
Tourism (see more details in “Tourism & Sports” point).
Transport, communications and logistics
Financial system
Total exports, in 2008, are broken down into a ratio of approximately 20.5% in the agricultural sector
and the remaining 79.5% in the industrial sector. The most important industrial export products are
transport materials (20.4 % of total exports), ceramics (11.8%), shoes (4.9%) and mechanical
machinery (7.6%). As for agricultural exports, it exceeded 3,350.00 million € in 2008, making up 20.5%
of total exports from the Comunidad Valenciana.
These trade relations mainly concern European Union countries. In 2008, France was the main
destination for Valencian sales, with 15.5% of total exports, followed by Germany, United Kingdom and
Italy, countries that received a third of all the exports. In relation to imports, the Valencian region mainly
receives goods from Chine, Germany and Italy, as well as Belgium and United Kingdom.
Construction 51
The percentage of participation of the costruction sector in the economic activity of the Comunidad
Valenciana was 12.3% in 2008, higher than the whole Spanish percentage, that was 11.6%.
The building official bid and the civil engineering had reached 3,038 million euros in 2008.
The labour market in the construction sector employed, in 2008, a total of 324,500 people in the last
quarter. The number of employed has fallen over the year to 259,900 employees. This situation means
that the unemployment rate increased to 19.9% in the fourth quarter.
51 Source: CES. Comité Económico y Social de la Comunidad Valenciana. www.ces.gva.es
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