Portuguese exporters less optimistic

Portuguese companies estimate a 4% growth in exports of goods this year according to a survey carried out by the National Statistics Institute (INE).

Published on 11 July, this amount is 0.3 percentage points below previous forecasts. Portuguese companies expect an increase of 4.2% in exports within the European Union. Outside the EU, national exporters expect growth of 3.4% in sales.
National exports saw an increase of 5.3% in 2018 compared to 2017.
But the forecasts are mainly taken from the point of view of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The downward review is mainly down to a worse performance than expected for most export markets.
The downward review in international trade is a result of updating export expectations to the European Union (down 0.4 p.p. to a variation of 4.2%).
The prospects for non-EU destinations, however, have grown 0.2 p.p. (growth of 3.4%), essentially down to the performance of the segment transport materials and accessories.