Page 82 - Economic report 2020

financing the inspection, control and certification services required for conversion to organic
production and continued organic production.

Beyond the drive towards organic certification, the Government also promotes the brand Productes
agrícoles i artesans d’Andorra (“Agricultural and Craft Products of Andorra”). Law 31/2022, of 21
July, for the development and diversification of the livestock and agricultural sectors regulates, for
example, the introduction of new crops, new infrastructures and innovative initiatives to produce
quality products, and considers the search for alternatives that would enable new income sources
to be generated through the development of complementary activities. Note that about thirty
national producers already have the Productes agrícoles i artesans d’Andorra seal or certification,
most of whom offer local food products or craft products linked to livestock or crop farming or
gathering wild plants (mainly natural soaps and cosmetics). All of these follow traditional mountain
agricultural practices and craft methods. The aim of this seal is to strengthen the legislative
framework to protect authorised traders and promote local production.

Overall, according to the statistics on public aid The central and local governments
to the agricultural sector, the total amount of have granted €2.73 million in aid
aid granted by the central and local governments
to the agricultural sector was €2.73 million in to the agricultural sector.
2022, a figure that represents an increase of
2.4% since the previous year. This was mainly as aid to foster traditional mountain agricultural
practices, which increased by €45,153 (+2.7%) and aid to foster specific agricultural practices
designed to conserve the environment, which increased by about €32,000 (+108.7%). On the
other hand, transfers from the Comú governments to agricultural and livestock activities shrank
7.6% to €45,106. Compared with the last five years, the amount of aid is slightly above the average
80
for the period 2017-2021 (€2.54 million) and represents 19.7% of the gross value added (GVA)
generated for the sector.

X. Industry

In 2022, the industry and manufacturing sector recorded a slight increase in GVA of 0.8%,
Andorran economy: developments in the main sectors | X. Industry
contrasting with the similar percentage of decline in the previous year (-0.9%). The sector has still
not regained the 2019 level, as there was a steep downturn during the pandemic in 2020 (-10.9%).
Equally, the industry and manufacturing sector as a whole represents a minor part of the Andorran
economy when compared with its neighbouring countries, since in 2022, it only represented 4.7%
of total GVA and 4.3% of employees. Moreover, it is more volatile than other economic sectors,
because one of the main subsectors is energy
production and distribution, which has a rather The GVA of the industry and
erratic component. manufacturing sector grew slightly

but has not recovered from the
This slight increase in industrial activity was
accompanied by an improvement in its labour decline recorded in 2020.
market. Specifically, employment grew 5.8% to
1,791 employees, 98 more than in 2021. In contrast, the number of establishments fell to 397,
the lowest figure in the last five years. Average wages also increased for the second consecutive
year, by 4.4% in 2022, recovering all the losses since 2020. Specifically, the average wage
reached €2,466, but there is a major difference between wages in the manufacturing industry
branch (including extraction industry), which are €2,353, and wages in the branch of production