Sweden wants to concentrate on heavy industry to strengthen exports. Having nourished fast-growing tech and gaming companies like Spotify and King, Sweden plans to boost exports by helping its manufacturing sector regain some of its former shine, says Enterprise Minister Mikael Damberg.
“The only parts of exports that are growing are the creative industries and the service sector, which is good, but it hasn’t compensated for the drop we’ve had in regular exports,” Damberg said in an interview last week. “Total exports need to rise and industrial production is very important.”
Home to industrial stalwarts such as SKF AB, Atlas Copco AB and Sandvik AB, Sweden has seen its exports as a share of total output drop from 50 percent to 45 percent since 2008, according to the Swedish Association of Industrial Employers. Germany and the U.S., by contrast, have raised their share of goods and services sold abroad as a proportion of gross domestic product.