UNIT 9: THE SPANISH ECONOMY

1. AGRICULTURE IN SPAIN
1.1. The characteristics of agriculture.
The aim of this modern agriculture is to grow produce for sale on the market, focusing
on

the

best

suited,

most

profitable

crops

in

each

region.

There is a wide range of crops cultivated in Spain, the most widespread are: cereals,
legumes, grapes, olives. fruit, vegetables, industrial plants and fodder, Organic farming
is also becoming increasingly important.
1.2. Livestock farming and forestry
Livestock farming accounts for a large proportion of overall agricultural production. It
tends to be intensive, stable farming, and use animal feeds and on the improvement of
breeds.
Cattle provide milk and meat; sheep provide meat and cures meat products; and poultry
meat and Cured and eggs.
Forestry has resources, due, to the lack of forests by intensive deforestation. Today, it is
specialised in certain hardwood species and conifers. Different products are obtained
from these trees, such as wood, cellulose, resin and cork.
1.3. The problems in the primary sector.
The problems faced by Sector are Very include ageing of population, of surpluses of
Some products, such as cereals, wine, milk or beef, lack of competitiveness of some
small farms, and the deterioration of the environment due to the use of chemical
products.
to resolve them, public administrations apply different policies: increase funding aimed
at rural development; impose production quotas', promote new crops; encourage
agricultural consolidation; increase areas of fallow land and forest, etc.
2. SPANISH AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPES
2.1. The oceanic agricultural landscape
This landscape is in the north and north-west of the peninsula. is characterised by land
and an Climate, numerous small enclosed by hedges, and disperse settlement.

Agriculture is limited to the bottoms or valleys and is specialised in horticultural crops

and plants for fodder.
Cattle farming is the most Common agricultural activity, in the mountainous regions is
generally extensive and on natural pasture land, whereas on the coast and near the main
cities intensive cattle farming is more common. Forestry is also an important activity.
2.2. The Mediterranean agricultural landscape
This landscape is found in the peninsula to the south of the oceanic areas, in the
Balearic Islands and Ceuta and Melilla. It covers a large area and is divided into interior
and costal landscapes.

The Mediterranean interior landscape

The interior of the peninsula characterise by flat land at high altitudes, a continental
climate, and the predominance of large fields and concentrated settlements.
Agriculture varies greatly. Non -irrigated land is used for extensive crops, especially the
Mediterranean trilogy, while on irrigated land there is intensive cultivation of industrial
plants and fodder.
Traditional livestock farming of both cows and pigs is extensive. Intensive livestock
farming.

The Mediterranean coastal landscape.

This area includes the Mediterranean Coastal Strip, Guadalquivir valley, Balearic
Islands, Ceuta and Melilla. It is Characterised by low altitudes and a mild Climate, with
little precipitation. The fields are generally small and the settlements are disperse.
Agriculture use intensive irrigation. The main crops are vegetables, fruit, and tropical
fruit in areas with warmer temperatures
2.3. The agricultural landscape of the Canary Islands .
The Canary Island are by uneven volcanic land and a subtropical Climate. There are
Sharp Contrasts in size of large farms and Small farms in the interior, Settlement is
disperse in general.

The agriculture of the coast specialises in single-crop farming for export, cultivation
under plastic and tropical fruits. In the interior, agriculture tends co be mixed farming
for

self-consumptions,

focussing

On

Vines,

potatoes

and

wheat,

There is very little livestock farming, due to the poor quality of the pasture, although
extensive sheep and goat farming and intensive pig and poultry farming does exist.
3. FISHING ACTIVITY IN SPAIN
3.1. Characteristics of the fishing industry.
The fishing has undergone a profound transformation. It includes traditional, small
ships, an offshore and high-seas composed fleet, composed of large, modern Ships
equipped the technologies.
The majority of species caught are. Other species of great value are the mollusc
crustaceans and cephalopods.
Fishing production is used primarily for human consumption of fresh fish. However,
some of the fish caught undergoes industrial transformation: freezing, canning, salting
and the production of oils and fishmeal.
3.2. Fishing grounds and regions
Today, Spanish fleets fish in national, EU and international fishing grounds, especially
those of the Atlantic and Indian oceans. To fish internationally, the EU negotiates and
signs fishing agreements with the corresponding countries, main Spanish fishing region
is Galicia, in the Atlantic coast of Andaluca, the Canary Island and considerable way
behind these, the Mediterranean.
3.3. Problems with fishing
The most notable problems related to fishing are the small and ageing fishing
population the excessive size of the fleet in relation to the resources of the fishing
grounds which leads to the exhaustion of some species, due to overfishing.

To resolve these problems, public administrations have taken different measures:

subsidies to young fishermen and women, scrapping the oldest ships and transferring
others to mixed fishing companies, establishing fishing quotas for threatened species,
etc. It also encourages fish farming, particularly of species with a high market value
bream, bass. mussels, etc.

4. SPANISH INSDUSTRY I. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS.

4.1. Mineral resources
Mining was an industry in Spain up the end Of 19 th Century IO Of mineral deposits.
Today, however, is as Some of these deposit have been and mining costs have increased
greatly.
Although Spain still extracts non metallic minerals, industrial rocks and fuels , Spanish
industry relies on large volumes of mineral imports.
4.2. Sources of energy
Spanish energy consumption is based on traditional energy sources, which means it is
necessary to make costly imports.
Oil, Natural gas, coal, Hydroelectric energy, Nuclear energy
Alternative energy sources still account for a relatively small proportion of
consumption, although wind, biomass and solar energies have recently increased their
production.
4.3. The industrial sectors
The most important traditional sectors are the steel industry. The transformation of
metals, electrical appliances, shipbuilding and the textile, Leather, footwear and
furniture industries. These play a major role in industry due to improved technologies,
the modernisation of facilities, increase in competitivess and the diversification
production.
The dynamic industrial sectors are represented by the automotive, chemical, food and
construction Industries. The majority of them have developed under the control of
foreign multinational, as they are activities that require major investments.
5. SPANISH INSDUSTRY II. DISTRIBUCION AND PROBLEMS
5.1 The distribution of industrial areas
Industry is mainly in Barcelona and Madrid. The headquarter of large national and
multinational companies and technology industries, are also based in these cities.
Other important industrial areas are located along the river Ebro, on the Mediterranean
and along the Cantabrian coast.

Industrial regions of the Ebro Mediterranean, National and multinational firms have
set up here to reduce costs or take advantage of the resources from the surrounding
area.

Cantabrian coast is a industrial area. lt was specialised in steel production and

shipbuilding.
The areas with least industrialisation are found in the interior of the
peninsula, in the two archipelagos and in Ceuta and Melilla.
5.1. The problems of industry
Spanish industry continues to have some problems which have to be resolved in order to
ensure its competitiveness on the world stage. The most notable the in occupied
population most companies are small medium size, the use of obsolete technology, the
lack of technology, the lack of investment in and developed compared to other, and
damage

To resolve these problems, varied measures are taken: policies to support SMEs,
promoting the use of advanced technologies,iIncreasing spending on R&D, preventing
environmental problems or rehabilitating areas in decline.
6. THE TERCEARY SECTOR IN SPAIN I. COMMERCE AND TRANSPORT
6.1. The growth of the service industry
The tertiary sector has grown spectacularly in Spain. Contributed of the gross domestic
product.
There are various reasons for this growth: the increase in the standard of living, which
demands numerous and specialises services; the growth of welfare state, consequents
increase in social and increased demand for by industry and tourism.
The creation of the autonomous communities and Spains entry into the EU have also
contributed to this growth, as they have increased the number of jobs in regional and
European administrations.
6.2. Commerce. Domestic and foreign trade
The majority of trade in Spain is traditional small shops; however, these are suffering as
they face growing competition from large retail outlets, such as hypermarkets,

department stores and shopping centres, which in decades have increased their market
share at the cost or the traditional retailers.
Foreign trade has increased as a result of the incorporation into the European Union
and economic globalisation. The vast majority of exchanges are carried out with the
other European Union countries, followed by the United States, Japan, China and some
countries of the Middle East and Latin America.
The most notable imports are Capital goods' and energy products. The biggest exports
are Capital goods, motor vehicles and foodstuffs. The trade balance is in deficit, we
import more than we export.
6.3. Transport. Characteristics and networks
The Spanish transport system uses mad transport above all for both passengers and
freight. The land and air networks are both radial in nature, with Madrid and the centre.
The quality and density of the network varies in different areas.
Land transport is most widely used, and is based on two networks: the roads network
and the railway network.

Road is the main form of transport for passengers and goods.

Railway transport is used for the transfer of goods and passengers over short and
medium distances.

Water transport is used for international heavy goods traffic, which is concentrated in
the ports of Algeciras, Barcelona and Valencia. Passenger transport is limited to routes
between island or across the Strait of Gibraltar, us it is concentratreted in the ports or
Canary Island, Balearic Island, Algeciras and Ceuta.
Air transport is the most competitive from of international passenger transport. The
main airports are Madrid, Barcelona. Palma Malaga and Tenerife.
7. THE TERTIARY SECTOR IN SPAIN II. TOURISM
7.1. The favourable factors of tourism
A series of favourable factors have influenced the development of

tourism since

1960, .These factors include: proximity to other European the climate and the cultural,
artistic, folklore and and political and compared to other nearby .
7.2. Types of tourism

The main type of tourism in Spain is sun and sand tourism, concentrate along the
Mediterranean coastline and in the Balearic and Canary Islands. Other types, which are
growing, are mountain tourism in the ski resorts, ecological tourism in the countryside,
rural tourism, cultural tourism in cities with important historical heritage and also
business tourism.
Foreign demand comes from European countries in search of sun and sand in the
summer. Domestic demand comes mainly from Madrid, Catalonia and Andaluca; it
includes various types of tourism and is better distributed across the year.
7.2. Repercussions and future prospects
Tourism has had both positive and negative consequences for Spain.
The positive consequences are the generation of income and employment, which
allowed the promotion of Other economic activities and the development of transport
infrastructure.
The negative consequences are the seasonality of employment, the rise in prices, of
and the environmental damage caused by on a massive Scale, pollution, production of
production of waste and over-use or water..
To ensure the future of the sector, certain problems must be resolved, such as the control
of business by foreign tour operators, the low-to- medium level. Of the majority of the
tourism and the concentration of tourism in the summer.
As solutions to these problems, the sector is seeking to promote domestic tour operators,
provide high quality tourism and developed new, less seasonal forms of tourism. A
commitment to sustainable tourism is also necessary, making sure the development of
the sector is compatible with care of the environment.