Textile exports are falling, footwear still resists

The fashion sector is the most sensitive to the loss of purchasing capacity experienced in Portugal. With a drop in orders, the industry is asking for support.

César Araújo, president of ANIVEC, says: "The government must quickly start implementing measures to support companies, both in terms of cash flow, with a more active role for the Banco de Fomento, and in terms of professional training. We need to take advantage of the reduction in business activity to train our workers and prepare them for the future."

In the first four months of the year, exports from the textile and clothing industry fell by 2.3% compared to the previous year, to EUR 2,031 million. Clothing accounted for 58% of this figure (EUR 1,187 million), with EUR 810 million coming from knitwear sales abroad. However, this segment is being penalized the most, with a drop of 5.3%. However, the 17.4% growth in more formal fabric garments offset the losses in knitwear. Footwear also grew by 1%, reaching EUR 640.7 million.

Looking at the 3 largest and main customers of the Portuguese textile and clothing industry (ITV), only France was expanding, with EUR 340.6 million, 3.8% more than in the same period in 2022. Spain, the largest destination for Portuguese exports, is down 1.5% and Germany is losing 4.4%. Italy (-14%), the UK (-10.9%) and the USA (-7.6%) also fell, while Belgium grew by 1.5%.

In the footwear sector, non-EU exports grew by almost 5%. Germany and the Netherlands, respectively the first and third largest destinations for Portuguese shoes, are in line with last year. Spain, Belgium, and the USA are down 5.6%, 4.7% and 2.2% respectively, while France, the second largest foreign market, is growing by almost 4%. Also noteworthy is the good performance of Italy and the UK, which grew by 21.9% and 27.3%.