18_5_18_ECO_sefc
"SMEs in various sectors must open up to the digital market."
The administrative assistant State Secretary of Commerce affirms at the University that the region has a great potential to diversify its exports.
"SMEs in various sectors must open up to the digital market". This was emphasized today by the administrative assistant of State for Trade and president of ICEX Spain Exports and investments, Marisa Poncela, in her speech at the workshop 'La internationalization en las PYMES' organized by the School of Economics of the University of Navarra.
"In the digital era, the border between local and international trade is increasingly blurred and the Internet is the natural gateway for internationalization", he added. Poncela believes that SMEs in Navarra have great potential for internationalization, but they must learn to diversify and position their products well. "SMEs do not need to travel to Asia to sell their products, what they need is to know how to place their products in the online market," he said.
The foreign sector represents 34% of the national GDP, a figure that is above the 25% of before the crisis. According to the administrative assistant of State of Commerce, these figures accredit the importance of this sector for the Spanish Economics , which closed 2017 growing above 3%. Poncela believes that exports, together with tourism, are the two engines of economic recovery.
Despite the good data, the president of ICEX warns of the risks posed by geopolitical clashes, issues that could provoke possible trade wars and disrupt the current state of growth.
As far as Navarre is concerned, nearly 40% of exports are focused on the automotive sector, despite the fact that the region, according to administrative assistant , has great potential for diversification. Poncela places special emphasis on the capabilities of the agri-food, consumer and luxury sectors.
After Marisa Poncela's lecture , the award for the best work Fin de Degree of internationalization 2017-18 was awarded to student of the School of Economics Santiago Baselga for his study of the wine market in South Korea for business Bodegas Olimpia from Navarra.
The work Fin de Degree consists of carrying out a market research on a product or service in the destination country of exchange from student. To date, more than 77 companies have benefited from this program, which, over the last five years, has contributed to 204 projects in 34 different countries.