Exports skyrocket 29% in March

Portuguese exports and imports recovered in March on the same month in 2020 according to statistics provided by the INE.

The sale of export goods went up 28.8% in March compared to just 2.6% in February this year like-for-like on February 2020.
Imports increased 12.2% too in March in homologous terms when in February they had shrunk 10.4%.
“It should be noted that these homologous variations in March consider the first month of 2020 in which the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic had a significant effect,” states the National Statistics Institute.
The INE highlights increases in exports of transport materials which were up 61% and imports in industrial supplies which increased 15.1% and machinery and other capital goods which increased 27.3%.
Not counting fuel and oil and grease lubricants, exports and imports increased 27.9% and 15%, when in February they had increased 2.1% and contracted 9.8% respectively.
The data from the statistics organisation also show that the goods trade balance deficit fell €555 million on the same period in 2020, the deficit being €1Bn in March.
Excluding fuels and lubricants, the deficit fell €385 million, reaching €743 million. Exports of goods increased 6.2% and imports fell 5.3% in the first quarter of this year compared to the first quarter of 2020.
Compared to the first quarter of 2019, exports increased 3% and imports fell 8.4%.