Spain and the United States - Real Instituto Elcano

FOREIGN TRADE 85
Exports of books to the United States represent one-twelfth of exports of shoes,
one-seventh of wine, one-sixth of olive oil, one-third of clementines and
roughly the same as those of cheese (which ten years ago hardly existed). Thus,
there is considerable potential in this area.
In a bid to boost book exports, the ICEX and the Federation of Spanish
Publishers (FGEE) launched a 600,000 plan in 2005, the 400 th anniversary of
the publication of Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote, to promote the sale of
books in the United States. The goal is to increase exports by 20% over the next
three years. Three areas will be targeted: bookshops, the Spanish sections of
libraries and Spanish-language teaching centres. Studies indicate that sales of
Spanish books in the United States could grow by 6% a year, compared with
3% for the market as a whole.
Exhibit 4.9 Exports of Books to the United States ( million)
The strategy, following one called “Spanish as an economic resource”,
developed by the ICEX through its trade office in Miami, consists of making
publishers in Spain aware of the importance and potential of the US market,
helping them adapt much more to US commercial practices for the selling of
books, encouraging alliances with other publishers and fostering a greater
presence of publishers in US book fairs and of authors in cultural activities.
Particular attention will be paid to the education departments and public
libraries in California, Florida, New York, Texas and New Mexico, which have
large Hispanic populations. The Cervantes Institute, the world’s largest
institution dedicated to the teaching of Spanish and to the promotion of the
cultures of Spanish-speaking countries, is involved in the plan. It has centres in
New York, Chicago and Albuquerque.
Spain has a plethora of small, specialist publishers that manage to hold
their heads above water if they have a couple of successes. Small companies –