Exports of the wine sector in Portugal grew 4% in 2013, compared to the previous year, reaching 732 million euros, according to the study Sectors Portugal published by Informa D&B.
In recent years, the Portuguese wine sector has been favored by the good performance of sales abroad and the growth in exports in 2013 represents an average annual variation of 6,5% in relation to 2009.
The growth of exports has motivated an increase in the trade surplus with the outside world, which went from 467 million euros in 2009 to 610 million in 2013.
Even so, this last year saw strong growth in imports, which led to a moderate reduction in the surplus compared to that recorded in 2012.
More than 60% of total exports correspond to wines with DOP, namely Port wine, with a share of the total value of around 45%.
Regarding destination countries, 55% of sales abroad are destined for the European Union, with France and the United Kingdom standing out as the main markets.
The provisional volume of wine production in the 2012-2013 harvest was 6,3 million hectoliters, which means an increase of 12,2% compared to the previous harvest. The estimate for the 2013-2014 harvest is 6.700 million hectoliters.
The number of companies active in the sector registered a slight growth in the period 2010-2012, reaching 799 in the last year, compared to 746 companies in activity in 2010. On the contrary, the volume of employment shows a downward trend, having in this period from 8.146 to 7.756 workers.
Small-sized operators predominate in the sector, with the average number of employees per company standing at 10 people. Only 25 companies have more than 50 employees.
The geographical distribution of companies reveals a notable concentration in the North region, where about half of the total is located. This is followed by the Centro region, with a share of around 25%, and the Alentejo, with around 15%.
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