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Britain to Portugal: What are the advantages?

Portugal is currently the UK’s 12th largest export market, with bilateral trade worth approximately £3bn and strong trade links between the two countries.

With emerging markets such as China, Russia, Brazil and India always in the spotlight, what does a country like Portugal have to offer to businesses based in the North West?

Bdaily spoke to UK Trade and Investment advisor for Portugal, Carlos Fernandez, who visited Manchester last week, about the synergies between the country and North West industries.

“Like the North West, Portugal is particularly strong in renewable energies and power. Most recently there’s been a €15m investment made into renewable energies, and Portugal has a pioneering project into offshore wind farms.

“Mining is also a key sector these days and many new concessions made by the Portuguese government leave the door open for opportunities for supply chain companies that may deliver their services and technologies to the current large players.”

He explained further why the country’s companies could make ideal business partners for a British business.

“When you target Portugal, you’re not just targeting this market. A lot of it is about forming partnerships with Portuguese companies to go to other countries like Brazil, Mozambique, and Angola.

“More and more there’s a demand for partnerships like this and we’re focussing on that potential. On the other hand we see this working the other way around and this link makes it a very interesting market.”

With a strong presence in Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries, it is an ideal market to form partnerships to then venture into other Portuguese-speaking countries together.

According to UKTI, Portugal has taken extra measures to adopt technologies early on to improve productivity and competitiveness, despite the economic downturn across Europe.

The country’s government has also pledged to reduce energy consumption by 9% before 2020, while 50% of its electricity is already generated by renewable sources.

Opportunities in the country also include: Electric vehicle charging, ICT for energy savings, green buildings and sustainable construction, financial services, aerospace, urban regeneration and construction.

Carlos further explained why Portugal should be considered as an ideal export market.

“Portugal can’t compete with emerging markets like Brazil China, Russia and India, because it is a very different market. But it has some major advantages.

“With it being a small market, and a market close to the UK, that makes it easy for early exporters to approach.

“Also the fact that Portugal is seen as an early adopter of new technologies is very important, and English is widely spoken.”

“As a first market it is ideal for its openness, its stability both politically and in terms of safety, and the fact it is in the EU. This gives you the opportunity to go into other markets with your Portuguese partner.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .