Exports, imports of goods soar by 82.4%, 60.4% in April YoY – INE

  • Lusa
  • 9 June 2021

According to Statistics Portugal (INE), Portugal's exports of goods and imports increased in April by 82.4% and 60.4% year-on-year.

Exports of goods and imports increased in April by 82.4% and 60.4% year-on-year, respectively (after increases of 28.7% and 13% in March) with exports reaching the level of 2019, according to Statistics Portugal (INE).

According to international trade statistics, released on Wednesday by INE, these year-on-year changes, in April, focus on the month of 2020 in which the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic was felt most intensely, corresponding to the month with the lowest absolute values and the largest year-on-year decreases of the entire pandemic period.

Compared to April 2019, there was a 7% rise in the case of exports and a 2.6% fall in the case of imports, it should be mentioned that imports in that month of 2019 were particularly high as a result of the acquisition abroad of transport equipment, INE said.

According to the institute, excluding fuels and lubricants, exports and imports increased by 82.1% and 60.1%, respectively (28.1% and 15.8%, in the same order, in March 2021).

Compared with April 2019, exports grew by 8.4% and imports decreased by 0.6%.

The deficit in the trade balance of goods, meanwhile, increased by €70 million compared to the same month in 2020 (decreased by €525 million compared to April 2019), reaching €1.25 billion in April 2021.

Excluding fuel and lubricants, the deficit reached €890 million.

In the quarter ending April 2021, according to INE, exports of goods increased by 31% and imports grew by 15.8% compared to the quarter ending April 2020 (a rise of 6.1% and a fall of 5%, in the same order, in the first quarter of 2021).

Compared with the quarter ended April 2019, exports increased by 7.5% and imports decreased by 2.8%, it said.

In the cumulative period from January to April 2021, compared to the same period in 2019, exports increased by 3.9% and imports registered a decrease of 6.7%.

INE points out that in both flows the decreases in transport equipment (-4.8% in exports and -29.1% in imports) and the increases in machinery and other capital goods (+13.1% and +4.5%, respectively) and industrial supplies (+3.3% and +5.0%, in the same order) stood out.