2022 bonanza year for textile exports

2022 is on target to be a record year in exports for Portugal’s clothing and textile industry.

The volume of exports is expected to be a record €6Bn, well above the last record achieved in 2021 which stood at €5.4Bn.
But it is not all good news, however, since part of this increase is down to an increase in prices because of inflation and pent up demand following two years of Covid-19. New orders too have been slowing since the summer as Portugal’s customers in the rag trade fear a recession in 2023.
The president of Portugal’s textile and clothing association (ATP) told the online news source ECO that a two digit growth in overseas sales always “makes an impact” but if sales figures to July had been close to +18% on pre-pandemic levels (2019) then “since then there has been a sharp slowdown” admits Mário Jorge Machado who adds that the second half of a year is “usually good for exports”.
The robust first half enjoyed by the industry with buoyant overseas sales “saw a slowdown in rhythm due to the effects of the war and the expectation of recession in Europe, particularly Germany”, he said.