The Balearic Islands recorded in October the highest average period of payment to suppliers in Spain, with a delay of 46.25 days, according to data published Monday by the Ministry of Finance. The figure places the community well above the legal limit set at 30 days and makes it the autonomous region with the longest delays in this key economic indicator.
In addition to the Balearic Islands, five other communities also exceeded the legal period: Cantabria (39.74 days), Castilla y León (38.28), Castilla-La Mancha (31.73), Comunidad Valenciana (31.29) and Asturias (30.78).
In contrast, the communities with the best performance in terms of payment to suppliers were Extremadura (13.44 days), Galicia (16.95) and the Canary Islands (18.05), all below 20 days. In the middle of the ranking were Aragon (21.48), the Basque Country (22.72), Madrid (23.70), La Rioja (24.28), Andalusia (24.47), Navarre (26.05), Murcia (27.05) and Catalonia (28.48).
The autonomous communities as a whole recorded an average of 27.48 days, which represents a slight improvement over the previous month, with a decrease of 0.15 days. This figure is made up of a ratio of transactions paid of 25.63 days and a ratio of transactions pending payment of 29.92 days.
The delay in the Balearic Islands is particularly relevant because it is an island community with a strong dependence on the local business fabric, especially SMEs and the self-employed, who suffer directly the consequences of these delays in the collection of services and supplies.
Central Administration and Social Security
The report also includes data from other administrations. The central Administration recorded an average payment period of 23.81 days, while the local entities located in the assignment model reached 23.73 days, reducing payment times by 4.45 days with respect to the same month of the previous year.
As for the Social Security Funds, the average payment period was 8.55 days, well below the records of the autonomous communities.
As for the composition of the indicator, the increase of 1.62 days in paid transactions and the decrease of 1.79 days in pending transactions show a slight trend towards an improvement in payment behavior, although unevenly across regions.
