The adverse international context has conditioned the weight of exports in GDP, which fell from 49.5% in 2022 to 46.5% in 2024. In 2025, the value is only 44%, considering the period between January and September.
Given these data, it is factual that the goal set by the AEP and novobanco Project with the High Patrocínio of the Presidency of the Republic, which has the partnership of APDL, Coface and the newspaper Expresso, – “Portugal Export +60’30” -, is today further from being achieved, compared to the two previous editions of the project.
However, this trend that the numbers show does not invalidate our ambition of reaching at least 60% of GDP in exports by 2030. Portugal must seek to continue strengthening its export intensity, given that the national market is limited and in this indicator we still find ourselves well behind other European Union countries with a similar size.
The less favorable moment in the dynamics of national exports requires a redoubled effort and gives greater importance to this project, due to the need to increase the number of exporting companies, to export with greater added value and to diversify markets, as a way of partially mitigating risks in the face of shocks that, unfortunately, occur more frequently.
In a period of geopolitical fragmentation, which particularly harms exports of goods, business associations play a fundamental role in supporting exporting companies, starting with the identification and presence in new markets.
The start of the third edition of Portugal Export +60’30 – which chooses the pillars of “Globalization 4.0”, “Reindustrialization” and “Artificial Intelligence” – had the privilege of being able to count on the interventions of the two former Ministers of Economy Pedro Reis and Manuel Caldeira Cabral and the former Minister of Defense António Vitorino, in addition to our partner Luís Ribeiro, administrator of novobanco. We share our visions and perspectives, pointing out ways for companies to be competitive on a global scale and for exports to gain weight in GDP to at least 60% by the end of the decade.
President of the Board of Directors of AEP – Portuguese Business Association