Companies are confident: exports will grow even more

  • ECO News
  • 11 July 2017

Companies revised upwards their export expectations for 2017. Growth will be larger than in 2016 both in sales for the European Union and for sales to non-members.

Companies which export goods are confident: their expectations for sales to non-European Union members for 2017 are even higher when compared to the first projection from November 2016, is concluded from the data disclosed by Statistics Portugal (INE).

Companies’ perspectives for the export of goods point to a nominal growth of 7.5%, 2.2 percentage points more than in the first projection. This optimism comes from sales expectations to non-member countries — to which companies expect to sell 11.2% more than in 2016 — and also from sales expectations to EU member countries — to which they anticipate a 6.3% increase. Even excluding fuels and lubricants from the math, export perspectives improved in comparison to November and point now to a 6.2% increase.

According to INE’s bulletin, the largest upward revisions on export perspectives happened in the sales of goods to the extra-EU market. INE highlights the sale of transport equipment, parts and accessories (in which a 20.1% increase is expected), the sale of fuels and lubricants, as well as other capital goods and accessories (aiming to sell 17% more than in 2016).

As for trade in the European Union, INE also highlights companies expect exports of transport parts and accessories to increase 7.6%, in addition to industrial supplies (6.2%).