17 Oct 2017
From metalworking to footwear, exports will smash records
2017 promises to be a good year. Foreign Sales of metallurgic products are growing 12% and cork, furniture, textiles and footwear rose 4%.
From metallurgy and metalworking to cork, bot forgetting wood and furniture, textiles and footwear, the traditional Portuguese industries except to beat historic peaks of exports this year. Sales for Europe are running at a good pace, taking advantage of Germany's growth, but there is also good news from the other side of the Atlantic – after all, contrary to what was feared, the protectionist policies of Donald Trump have not already had any impact.
The export champion is the metallurgical and metalworking industry. In all, during the first eight months of the year alone, it has sold to 10.5 billion euros to foreign markets, a 12% increase. Rafael Campos Pereira, vice president of AIMMAP, the Metallurgical Association, admits that "there is some expectation" that the metal segment will be able this year to reach almost 16 billion in exports. Markets such as the USA, China and Angola are enjoying growths well above 50%. In Europe, Spain and France have risen to double digit figures, and even Germany, which was showing some weakness, because of the relocation of industrial enterprises, is again accelerating.
Cork: The Billion Goal
Cork exports already total 673.3 million euros, an 4.8% increase as compared to the first eight months of 2016. This year will not witness cork overcoming the mythical barrier of a billion euros in exports yet, but the industry believes it will grow more. "We are happy to say that cork exports are on a growing path. This gives continuity to the growth strategy of exports that has characterized our sector in recent years, so we believe that this trend will remain until the end of the year", says Joaquim Lima, Director-General of APCOR – Portuguese Cork Association.
In terms of destinations, the top five buyers are performing differently. Spain grows is growing in double digits, France and Italy above 4%. Sales to the US (-3.5%) and to Germany (-1.7%) are falling. The UK grows 6.6%, China 8.5% and Australia over 52%. New technological advances in cork stoppers are giving a good boost to sales.
Exports of textiles and clothing to the USA are growing more than 14%, thus reassuring the industry, which feared the effects of the measures taken by Donald Trump. "There was some fear, but reality prevailed and business has been going well, regardless of any protectionist measures," says the director-general of the Textile and Clothing Association of Portugal.
Paul Vaz believes that "there is no reason to fear the future". Just the opposite. "There are additional reasons for trade with the US to be incremented, notably through the implementation of trade treaty between the European Union and Canada, CETA, which will lead to increased relations with Canada, which will also become a gateway to the United States. " In total, exports of textiles and clothing grew 4.5%, surpassing the 3.5 billion euros recorded between January and August. European Union countries grew 3.3%, while markets outside the EU increased almost 11%. Angola, whose economy seems to be recovering from the oil crisis, imported more 69% of Portuguese textiles and garments; Brazil 83% more and China 23% more.
Wood & Furniture
From metallurgy and metalworking to cork, bot forgetting wood and furniture, textiles and footwear, the traditional Portuguese industries except to beat historic peaks of exports this year. Sales for Europe are running at a good pace, taking advantage of Germany's growth, but there is also good news from the other side of the Atlantic – after all, contrary to what was feared, the protectionist policies of Donald Trump have not already had any impact.
The export champion is the metallurgical and metalworking industry. In all, during the first eight months of the year alone, it has sold to 10.5 billion euros to foreign markets, a 12% increase. Rafael Campos Pereira, vice president of AIMMAP, the Metallurgical Association, admits that "there is some expectation" that the metal segment will be able this year to reach almost 16 billion in exports. Markets such as the USA, China and Angola are enjoying growths well above 50%. In Europe, Spain and France have risen to double digit figures, and even Germany, which was showing some weakness, because of the relocation of industrial enterprises, is again accelerating.
Cork: The Billion Goal
Cork exports already total 673.3 million euros, an 4.8% increase as compared to the first eight months of 2016. This year will not witness cork overcoming the mythical barrier of a billion euros in exports yet, but the industry believes it will grow more. "We are happy to say that cork exports are on a growing path. This gives continuity to the growth strategy of exports that has characterized our sector in recent years, so we believe that this trend will remain until the end of the year", says Joaquim Lima, Director-General of APCOR – Portuguese Cork Association.
In terms of destinations, the top five buyers are performing differently. Spain grows is growing in double digits, France and Italy above 4%. Sales to the US (-3.5%) and to Germany (-1.7%) are falling. The UK grows 6.6%, China 8.5% and Australia over 52%. New technological advances in cork stoppers are giving a good boost to sales.
Exports of textiles and clothing to the USA are growing more than 14%, thus reassuring the industry, which feared the effects of the measures taken by Donald Trump. "There was some fear, but reality prevailed and business has been going well, regardless of any protectionist measures," says the director-general of the Textile and Clothing Association of Portugal.
Paul Vaz believes that "there is no reason to fear the future". Just the opposite. "There are additional reasons for trade with the US to be incremented, notably through the implementation of trade treaty between the European Union and Canada, CETA, which will lead to increased relations with Canada, which will also become a gateway to the United States. " In total, exports of textiles and clothing grew 4.5%, surpassing the 3.5 billion euros recorded between January and August. European Union countries grew 3.3%, while markets outside the EU increased almost 11%. Angola, whose economy seems to be recovering from the oil crisis, imported more 69% of Portuguese textiles and garments; Brazil 83% more and China 23% more.
Wood & Furniture
Also on the way to its best international performance ever, is the wood and furniture segment: 1.543 billion sold abroad in the first eight months of the year, a year-on-year increase of 4%. Furniture and the mattress industry are worth almost two-thirds of exports and grow, respectively, 6% and 12%. Exports of lumber and wood panels are falling.
"The wood and furniture industry as a whole has been increasing its exports by 100 million euros a year in the last eight years," says the president of AIMMP, the industry’s association. However, Vítor Poças acknowledges that the segment "is far from reaching its maximum potential", while ensuring that Portuguese products "can be competitive anywhere in the world".
Finally, exports of footwear increased by 3.66%, reaching a total of 1,390 billion euros, with sales to Europe increasing by 2.37% and 12.3% for non-EU markets. France, the main destination of Portuguese footwear, fell 1.7%. Spain loses 8% and the United Kingdom 2.9%. On the other hand, Angola shot up 80%, Canada grew 10.8%, Japan 15% and Germany 9%.
"Since 2010, the sector has grown more than 60% in foreign markets," says the spokesman of the footwear association, APICCAPS. Paulo Gonçalves points out that Portuguese shoes, currently among the most expensive in the world, "have to consolidate their presence in European markets "while at the same time" gaining space in non-EU markets of great potential, such as Canada, China, USA or Latin America. "
Source:
In, Dinheiro Vivo