Agrifoods and drinks exports up 2% but sales to US plummet 17.4% over tariffs

Exports from Portugal’s food and beverage industry reached €1,964 million in the first quarter, reflecting a 2.03% increase compared to the same period last year, after closing 2025 with a slight decline, – the first in a decade.

According to data compiled by the Portuguese Federation of Agri-food Industries (FIPA), based on the National Institute of Statistics (INE), there is a “positive evolution,” considering that in March alone, sales abroad increased by 10.98% compared to the same month in 2025.

The European Union (EU) stands out as the main destination for Portuguese products, concentrating €1.35 billion of exports from the food and beverage industry in the first three months of the year, representing approximately 68%.

Of the 27 EU member states, the markets where Portugal experienced the greatest sales growth were Bulgaria (+35.1%), Ireland (+27.6%), and the Netherlands (+13.7%), according to a statement released to newsrooms by FIPA on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, exports to non-EU markets grew by 2.48% to €614 million, with notable increases in São Tomé and Príncipe (+24.3%), Cape Verde (+18%), and Brazil (+16.4%).

Conversely, sales to Angola registered a 4.9% drop in the first three months of the year. But even more significant were the declines in exports to Morocco, which fell by 21%, and to the United States, which dropped by 17.4%.

“Despite the context marked by economic tensions and logistical challenges, the president of FIPA, Jorge Henriques, says he believes the sector will continue to find growth opportunities. And, in this sense, he advocates for “a consolidation of the instruments available to entrepreneurs to continue their international expansion, in a policy that goes beyond financial support.”

With the goal of seeing the sector “grow outside the EU-27,” Jorge Henriques points out that the Ministry of Economy and the Portuguese Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade (AICEP) could play a “strategic role” in the international promotion of Portuguese products.

Source: Negócios