Portugal shipped US$55.7 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2016, up by 25.8% since 2009 when the Great Recession kicked in and up by 0.6% from 2015 to 2016.

Portugal’s top 10 exports accounted for 55.4% of the overall value of its global shipments.

Based on statistics from the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook Database, Portugal’s total Gross Domestic Product amounted to $297.1 billion in 2016. Therefore, exports accounted for about 18.7% of total Portuguese economic output.

From a continental perspective, over three-quarters (76.8%) of Portuguese exports by value are delivered to other European countries while 8.2% are sold to African importers. Portugal ships another 5.9% to North American customers and 5.2% to Asia.

Given Portugal’s population of 10.8 million people, its total $55.7 billion in 2016 exports translates to roughly $5,100 for every resident in that country.

Portugal’s unemployment rate was 10.5% as of December 2016 down from 12.2% one year earlier, according to Trading Economics.

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Portuguese global shipments during 2016. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Portugal.

1. Vehicles: US$5.8 billion (10.4% of total exports)
2. Electrical machinery, equipment: $5 billion (9%)
3. Machinery including computers: $3.6 billion (6.4%)
4. Mineral fuels including oil: $3.5 billion (6.3%)
5. Plastics, plastic articles: $2.9 billion (5.3%)
6. Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $2.3 billion (4.2%)
7. Footwear: $2.2 billion (3.9%)
8. Furniture, bedding, lighting , signs, prefab buildings: $2 billion (3.6%)
9. Paper, paper items: $2 billion (3.5%)
10. Articles of iron or steel: $1.5 billion (2.8%)

Mineral fuels including oil were the fastest-growing among the top 10 export categories, up 62.5% in value for the 7-year period starting in 2009.

In second place for improving export sales was plastics and plastic articles, which gained 54.5%.

The third-fastest gain was up 40.9% for furniture, bedding, lighting, signs and prefab buildings.

The following types of Portuguese product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports is the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

1. Footwear: US$1.3 billion (Up by 21.2% since 2009)
2. Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $1.2 billion (Up by 35.7%)
3. Furniture, bedding, lighting , signs, prefab buildings: $925.1 million (Up by 210.4%)
4. Paper, paper items: $869.7 million (Up by 841.3%)
5. Cork, articles of cork: $846.3 million (Down by -0.1%)
6. Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $652.7 million (Up by 3.3%)
7. Ceramic products: $635.1 million (Up by 23.3%)
8. Woodpulp: $607.4 million (Up by 13.6%)
9. Miscellaneous textiles, worn clothing: $532.3 million (Up by 16.9%)
10. Articles of iron or steel: $519.5 million (Down by -615.3%)

Portugal has highly positive net exports in the international trade of footwear. Partly due to Portugal’s relatively small population, these cashflows indicate Portugal’s strong competitive advantages under the footwear product category.

Below are exports from Portugal that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Portugal’s goods trail Portuguese importer spending on foreign products. Overall, Portugal posted a trade deficit of -$11.9 billion for all goods in 2016 down by -56.9% from -$27.6 billion during 2009.

1. Mineral fuels including oil: -US$3.3 billion (Down by -52.4% since 2009)
2. Vehicles: -$2.6 billion (Up by 11.2%)
3. Machinery including computers: -$2.2 billion (Down by -46.7%)
4. Pharmaceuticals: -$1.4 billion (Down by -41.2%)
5. Fish: -$929.6 million (Down by -13.7%)
6. Iron, steel: -$775.8 million (Down by -31.9%)
7. Meat: -$761 million (Down by -22.7%)
8. Cereals: -$739.6 million (Down by -6.5%)
9. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$634.4 million (Down by -38%)
10. Other chemical goods: -$590.3 million (Up by 20%)

Portugal has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for mineral fuels-related products, particularly crude oil and petroleum gases.

These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate Portugal’s competitive disadvantages in the international energy market, but also represent key opportunities for Portugal to improve its position in the global economy through focused innovations.

Portuguese Export Companies

According to Forbes 2015 Global 2000 rankings, the following are examples of leading Portuguese companies:

• EDP-Energias de Portugal (electric utilities)
• Galp Energia (oil, gas)
• Jeronimo Martins (food retailer)
• Banco Comercial Portugues (regional banks)
• Portugal Telecom (telecommunications services)

The Russian-Portuguese Business Club lists Portugal’s biggest employers involved in international trade:

• Petrogal (oil, gas)
• Volkswagen Autoeuropa (automobiles)
• Portucel Soporcel (paper)
• Philip Morris International (tobacco)
• Delphi Automotive (automotive parts)