Major Industries of Portugal

Portuguese industry is mostly located in two population centers. The locations are Lisbon in the south and Porto-Braga in the north. Modern global industry changes have caused a shift to business services as a major export. However, manufacturing still makes up 1/3 of the workforce in Portugal.  Portuguese exports include: food, textiles, metals, machinery, chemicals, wood (largest world-wide supplier of cork), glass and pottery, refined petroleum, building materials, foot wear and beverages.  Portugal has earned fame for its lace, tiles and ceramics.

The Lisbon area is home to many industries including iron and steel, shipbuilding and repair, oil refining, chemical production, machinery, electronics, and food and beverage.  Setubal has fish processing, cork, wood pulp and an automobile assembly. Sines is home to a petrochemical plant and a coal powered energy plant.

Production of Portugal

Porto-Aveiro-Braga in the north is the center of cottage industries. Textiles, footwear, furniture, wine, food, wood-pulp and other wood products, clothing, cutlery and electronics are all made in this area. Porto is also the fishing center of Portugal. An important industry since Portugal is the largest consumer of fish in Western Europe. Both of these population centers are located next to large ports.  This lowers the cost of shipping raw materials.  Anything that keeps prices lower allows Portugal to try to compete with the Asian markets.

The lower wages paid in Portugal are a large factor in keeping prices stable, but the Asian market has even lower wages. This makes competition difficult. Portugal has struggled since the mid-1970s to maintain economic stability.  In the 1980s-1990s, Portugal started to court foreign investors to bring in funds. Privatization of several industries lured investors.  Energy, chemical and cement were among the manufactories that became private during this time period.

Energy in Portugal

Another factor in manufacturing cost in Portugal is energy. Portugal has no oil, very little domestic coal and no natural gas. The price fluctuations in the oil market were highly adverse to industry in the 1980s. Portugal has made an effort to reduce dependency on oil and move to renewable sources. While coal still makes up a large amount of the energy produced in Portugal over 43% is generated from renewable sources. 35.9% of native energy is generated from wind or solar power.  The commitment to producing renewable energy has created a new industry. Portugal is now the manufacturer of the most efficient wind tower in the world.