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.
