It’s certainly a major factor, especially in the Algarve, but Portugal is now ranked 21st among 45 countries in the Europe region for its financial stability, and its overall score is above the regional and world averages.

For those of us who live and work in the Algarve, it’s easy to believe that tourism is the major industry of Portugal. That may be true of the Algarve, it’s certainly far from true for Portugal.

Main industries include oil refineries, cement production, plastic products, textiles, construction, steel, footwear and leather and of course tourism. Portugal's Travel & Tourism total contribution to GDP represents approximately 17 percent. This figure is predicted to reach close to 20 percent of GDP this year. GDP stands for "Gross Domestic Product" and represents the total monetary value of all final goods and services produced (and sold on the market) within a country during a period of time (typically 1 year).


World-leading companies

Portugal is home to a number of notable leading companies with worldwide reputations, such as The Navigator Company, a major world player in the international paper market; Sonae Indústria, the largest producer of wood-based panels in the world; Corticeira Amorim, the world leader in cork production; ConservasRamirez, the oldest canned food producer, Cimpor, one of the world's 10th largest producers of cement; EDP Renováveis, the 3rd largest producer of wind energy in the world; Jerónimo Martins, consumer products manufacturer and retail market leader in Portugal, Poland and Colombia. This group previously owned the famous London store Lilywhites but sold this store in 2002.


Farming

Agriculture in Portugal is based on small to medium-sized family-owned dispersed units but this is changing as large groups see and invest in the potential of Portugal’s attractive climate and easy access to the EU market in the north of Europe. Vitacress is a name we all see in the local supermarkets. When I moved to the Algarve I enjoyed horse riding and especially in the Almancil area. There were enormous watercress farms, owned by Vitacress, and reputedly they flew watercress to the UK on every UK-bound TAP flight out of Faro to supply M&S.

These days they grow everything from new potatoes to prepacked salads. Their turnover is reported at almost €150 million, and they employ over 1,000 people in Portugal. Their farms are now located from the South to the North of Portugal as well as Spain. Personally, I buy some of their products every week, the quality is superb.

EDP Renováveis (Renewables) is much larger than a simple supplier of electricity for home and commerce. Their renewable energy arm operates in three broad geographic areas: Europe, North America, and South America. Its internal composition is organized similarly, being divided into three platforms: Europe and Brazil, North America (including the Canadian and Mexican markets) and Offshore.

It currently owns and operates wind farms in Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the United States, Spain, Portugal, France, the United Kingdom, Poland, Italy, Romania, Belgium, and Greece. Their annual income is over three hundred million.


Portugal is a world leader in cork

Organised in five Business Units – Raw-Materials, Cork Stoppers, Floor & Wall Coverings, Composite Cork and Insulation Cork – Corticeira Amorim sells an array of products largely to such industries as the aeronautical, construction and wine-producing industries. They contribute to the Portuguese economy with an annual turnover of approaching €500 million. As you drive through the Alentejo you now know the value to Portugal of those cork trees you see so many of.

See Portugal in a new light

Anyone living in the center and North of Portugal will probably say, yes we know that, but here in the Algarve, I believe, we tend to be very focused on tourism. That’s inevitable as tourism is all around us and it’s critically important to Portugal. However, it’s important to realise that tourism contributes only around 17 percent to 20 percent of Portugal’s GDP.

There are so many world-leading industries and companies based here. Portugal is an important producer of a wide range of products and services.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Portugal was worth 249.89 billion (yes billion) US dollars in 2021, according to official data from the World Bank. This is predicted to increase this year. The GDP value of Portugal represents 0.19 percent of the world economy. (Source: World Bank)

Portugal may be a relatively small country, but it has a big footprint in Europe.

Author

Resident in Portugal for 50 years, publishing and writing about Portugal since 1977. Privileged to have seen, firsthand, Portugal progress from a dictatorship (1974) into a stable democracy. 

Paul Luckman