The decline of 9.3% in September and 14.1% in the third quarter in industrial supply caused national goods exports to turn negative for the sixth month in a row, the National Institute of Statistics (INE) announced yesterday .
Particularly noteworthy is the double-digit decline in foreign sales of processed products in the fuel and passenger car sectors, a situation consistent with the closure of Autoeuropa, one of the main national exporters. The shutdown took place from September 11 to October 23, due to the lack of a part produced at a factory in Slovenia affected by the August floods.
For example, national exports fell by 8.2% in September and amounted to 6.308 million euros, almost 500 million less than in the same month of 2022. In the cumulative result for the quarter, the decline amounts to 9.5%, on a total of 18.079 million euros, while data from the beginning of the year shows a year-on-year decline of only 0.63%, with exports in the first nine months of the year reaching 58,398 million euros, 371 million less than in 2022.
It should be taken into account that sales abroad grew in the first three months of the year (up to 20,557 million euros at the end of the first quarter, 12.8% more compared to the same period last year, or 18,231 million euros more than last year). euros). From April onwards, exports did not return to positive territory.
Imports
Imports have also fallen since April, due to, among other things, the lower need for raw materials and the effect of falling fuel prices on the international market.
In September, national imports fell 13%, highlighted by a 14.9% decline in industrial inventories and a 27% drop in fuels and lubricants. INE emphasizes that this decline, in the case of fuels, reflects the decline in the prices of these products on the international market, of almost 21% compared to September 2022.
The fact that imports are falling faster than exports has its positive side, because the trade balance deficit is shrinking: in September it amounted to 2,171 million euros, 706 million less than in September 2022.
INE emphasizes that “from March to September this year, only in May did the deficit worsen compared to the same period of the previous year”.
In September, fuels and lubricants represented 32.3% of the trade balance deficit (36.7% in September 2022), meaning that the trade balance, after deducting the effect of these products, totaled -1,470 million euros. It corresponds to a decrease in the deficit of 352 million euros compared to the same month last year.
Destinations and origins
In terms of trading partners, the largest decline, both in exports and imports, occurred in transactions with Spain, which fell by 10.8% and 6.8% respectively. France, the second largest destination for national exports, lost 6.6% in September and Germany, in third place, fell 11%. Conversely, the growth of 19% for the United States and 9.4% for the United Kingdom is striking. Sales to the Eurozone fell by 11.6% and 10.5% in the 27 Member States.
In terms of imports, the second largest partner is Germany, which fell by 10.4%, followed by France, which lost 6.4%. Portuguese companies’ purchases from China fell by 21.9% compared to September 2022. In percentage terms, the sharpest declines were in imports from outside the EU, which fell by 25.7% in September. Purchases from the eurozone were 6.9% lower than last year and 7.6% lower for the European Union as a whole.
Ilídia Pinto is a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
Source: DN
