Portuguese H1 exports climb above €1bn

Portugal’s fresh fruit, vegetable and flower sales increased to €1.036bn in the first half (H1) of the year, up 8 per cent on the same period of 2022.

According to Portugal Fresh, which sourced the data from the National Institute of Statistics, it marked the first time that export value had topped €1bn in the first half of the year.

By contrast, export volumes actually fell 13 per cent when compared with the opening six months of 2022, attributed by Portugal Fresh to lower production as the result of climate change.

More than 80 per cent of exports went to EU countries with Spain accounting for a third of the total.

Other leading export markets included France (14% per cent of the total), the Netherlands (13 per cent), Germany (8 per cent), the United Kingdom (7 per cent), Belgium (4 per cent) and Japan (3 per cent).

The full year of 2022 saw the country’s fruit, vegetable and flower exports exceed €2bn in value for the first time.