In the first eight months of this year, textile and clothing exports from Portugal increased, driven by woven apparel and technical textiles, with markets outside the EU showing greater momentum.
According to data from the Portuguese National Statistics Institute (INE), Portuguese exports of textile materials and articles totalled €3.78 billion between January and August, an increase of €87.1 million or 2.4% compared with €3.7 billion in the same period of 2025.
Geographically, exports to European Union (EU) countries grew by 1.3% to €2.69 billion, equivalent to an increase of €35.1 million compared with January to August last year. Sales outside the European Union rose by around 5% to €1.09 billion, an increase of €51.9 million. Despite the stronger momentum in non-EU markets, the EU continues to account for around 71% of the sector’s Portuguese exports.
Non-knitted clothing leads growth
By product category, non-knitted clothing and clothing accessories recorded the largest increase in absolute terms, rising by 8.5%, equivalent to an additional €54.7 million, to a total of €696.5 million.
Knitted clothing and clothing accessories, which remain the Portuguese textile and clothing industry’s leading export category, grew by 1.3% to €1.46 billion, an increase of €19.3 million compared with the same period of 2025.
Other strong-performing categories included impregnated, coated, covered or laminated fabrics, which include products intended for technical applications, with exports increasing by 13.8% to €259.2 million, representing an additional €31.4 million.
Exports of wadding, felt, nonwovens and cordage articles rose by 7.3% to €253.6 million, while carpets and other textile floor coverings recorded growth of 17.2%, reaching €76.4 million.
Other made-up textile articles, a category encompassing a large proportion of home textiles, also performed positively, although more moderately, with an increase of 2.1% to €518 million.
Conversely, the largest decline in absolute terms was recorded in man-made staple fibres, with exports falling by 26.4%, from €153.2 million in the first eight months of 2025 to €112.8 million in the same period this year, a reduction of €40.4 million.
Man-made filaments also recorded a negative performance, declining by 11.2% to €53.6 million, as did other vegetable textile fibres (-16.2%) and cotton (-4.6%).
France and the Netherlands drive exports
Among the main destination markets, Spain remained the Portuguese textile and clothing industry’s largest customer, with exports of €873.3 million, virtually unchanged from the €874.2 million recorded in the same period of 2025 (-0.1%).
France, in second place, recorded the largest absolute increase among destination markets, growing by 4.1%, equivalent to an additional €22.2 million, to a total of €559.2 million.
Germany, the third-largest market, recorded a decline of 2.6% to €307.1 million, €8.3 million less than in the first eight months of last year.
The US, in fourth place, increased its purchases of Portuguese textiles and clothing by 3.1% to €300.9 million, representing an increase of €9.1 million.
The Netherlands also stood out for its positive performance, with growth of 10.2%, equivalent to an additional €21.3 million, reaching €230.1 million.
Conversely, Italy recorded the largest reduction in absolute terms among the main destinations, with a decline of 11.1% to €191.6 million, €23.9 million less than in the same period of the previous year. Exports to the UK also fell by 2.6% to €221.6 million.
Among the remaining markets in the top 10, Belgium recorded growth of 9% to €109.8 million, while Canada increased its purchases by 12.7% to €79.8 million. Sweden also performed positively, with an increase of 7.4% to €74.2 million.
Outside the ten main destinations, notable increases were recorded in exports to Poland (+25% to €63.9 million), Mexico (+71.7% to €43.4 million) and Vietnam (+88.2% to €20.5 million). In Mexico’s case, the increase represented an additional €18.1 million in exports compared with the same period of 2025, while Poland purchased €12.8 million more and Vietnam €9.6 million more.
