Textile sector statistical data

In 2022, the ITV sector comprised 12,222 companies, mostly in the Fashion and Clothing segment (70%). In line with the majority of companies in Portugal, it is primarily made up of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs, 99.7%): 79.9% are micro-enterprises, 15.5% small, and 4.2% medium-sized companies. These companies employed 128,089 people and generated a GVA of approximately €2.7 billion.

ITV companies are mostly located in the Northern Region, concentrated in the Ave and Cávado areas. The ITV sector is one of the oldest and most traditional industries in the national economy and remains one of the largest and most important business sectors.

More than 70% of Portuguese ITV companies are concentrated in the Fashion and Clothing segment, followed by Technical and Industrial Textiles and Home Textiles. Although relatively less significant in other aspects, Fashion and Clothing employs the most people in the ITV sector (57.8% in 2022), reflecting a decline in relative importance since 2016 (down 3 percentage points).

Regarding apparent labor productivity, both ITV segments show lower values compared to the other industries analyzed, with Textiles having a GVA per worker of €28,200 and Clothing €19,600.

Textile Manufacturing and Clothing Industry companies have a lower technological intensity compared to the average of the Manufacturing Industry and most selected industries. However, despite this lower technological level, Textile Manufacturing and Clothing Industry companies contribute more to the GVA of the Manufacturing Industry than the Chemicals and Wood & Cork industries.

The main ITV industries (Textile Manufacturing – CAE 13 and Clothing Industry – CAE 14) have recorded two-year survival rates of 66% and 67%, respectively, both higher than the survival rate for all non-financial companies in Portugal (59%).

China leads as the largest exporter, with a 36.4% share of global exports. Vietnam ranks second (5.2%), followed by two European countries – Germany and Italy (with shares of 4.8% and 4.5%, respectively). Portugal ranks 27th, with a 0.7% share of global exports.

Exports of products from Portuguese ITV companies reached €5,815 million, representing 7.5% of goods exports in 2023, marking a year-on-year decrease of 5.2% following a 12.4% increase in 2022 compared to 2021. This fluctuation resulted from the international conflict scenario, which affected production pricing structures, disrupted distribution channels, and was accompanied by a decrease in demand.

The analysis of the contribution of different ITV segments to the evolution of their respective exports highlights the importance of Fashion and Clothing throughout the period under review. This is followed by the Fibers, Yarns, and Fabrics segment and the Home Textiles segment, both of which negatively influenced export trends in 2023, similar to Fashion and Clothing.

In 2023, the main export markets for the ITV sector were Spain (23.1%), France (16.3%), Germany (8.7%), and the United States (7.9%), which together accounted for 80% of national ITV exports. The intra-EU market represents 73.1% of ITV export destinations.

In 2023, ITV goods imports amounted to €5,181 million, marking a 5.4% decrease compared to the previous year. In that year, ITV imports represented 4.9% of total goods imports. The main imported products fall within the Fashion and Clothing segment, which accounted for 57.9% of ITV imports in 2023.

The main source markets for ITV imports are Spain (34.7%), Italy (11.6%), and China (8.8%), together accounting for more than half (55.1%) of the total in 2022.

The ITV goods trade balance is positive, reaching €634 million, down 3.9% compared to 2022. The coverage rate of imports by exports in the ITV sector was 112.2% in 2022, remaining relatively stable compared to 2021.

Despite the less favorable evolution of ITV product exports and the loss of relative importance internationally, Portugal shows a revealed comparative advantage (based on the Comparative Advantage Index – IVCR) of 1.9 in Textiles and Clothing and their accessories, a value higher than that of some countries with greater relative importance in total exports of these products.

In 2022, Portugal ranked 27th in the global ITV export ranking, with a 0.7% share of world exports. Austria and Australia occupied the 26th and 28th positions, with shares very close to Portugal's, reflecting a decline in Portugal's share compared to previous years. A detailed analysis of ITV export flows by segment shows that Portugal ranks 26th in global textile exports and 23rd in clothing and accessories exports, with similar world shares.

Within EU export markets, Germany, Italy, and Spain are the three main exporters, accounting for 19.5%, 18.4%, and 9.6% of EU ITV product exports in 2022 (global shares of 4.9%, 4.5%, and 2.4%, respectively). Portugal ranks 10th among EU exporting markets, with a 3.0% share, with Austria and the Czech Republic as its main competitors. 

Regarding the external market, exports account for a high share of ITV turnover, particularly in the Clothing Industry (70.2%), second only to the Automotive sector. Textile Manufacturing also shows a high export weight (53.9%), above the average for the Manufacturing Industry. In terms of imports, there is greater external dependence in the Textile segment compared to Clothing (38.2% and 21.7%, respectively), but still below the Manufacturing Industry average.

According to the most recent data, in 2022, 75% of investment (measured by Gross Fixed Capital Formation) by ITV companies was made by the Fibers, Yarns, and Fabrics segment (43.8%) and Fashion and Clothing (31.2%). These two segments have consistently been the main investors in the ITV sector, with Technical and Industrial Textiles also showing notable investment efforts. In that year, ITV investment grew by 7.1% year-on-year.

FDI in the ITV sector has experienced negative annual growth rates, with 2021 recording the largest decline due to the international economic crisis caused by COVID-19. In Technical and Industrial Textiles, the negative variation exceeded the ITV average in 2021 and 2022, whereas Fashion and Clothing registered the smallest annual negative variations in the ITV sector over the past two years.

ITV activities show a similar distribution of R&D investment across segments, with shares ranging from approximately 28% to 30%, except for the Home Textiles segment, which has lower R&D investment (10%) and a smaller number of companies engaged in R&D activities (11.1%).

Analysis of technological intensity across Portuguese ITV segments highlights the investment efforts in R&D by companies in Technical and Industrial Textiles and Fibers, Yarns, and Fabrics, with technological intensity levels of 3.41% and 2.24%, respectively, above the ITV average of 1.67%.

Of the 9.7% of ITV companies that received public financial support for innovation activities (product or process), 3.6% used it for R&D or other innovation activities (for all companies, these percentages were 16% and 5.2%, respectively). The Technical and Industrial Textiles segment had the highest share of innovative companies receiving such support (24.7%), followed by Home Textiles (17.1%).

Between 2010 and the first half of 2023, 22,376 national trademark applications related to textiles and clothing were submitted, with 18,122 granted (excluding duplicate class cases). It is noteworthy that most national trademark applications in the sector pertain to Clothing, Footwear, and Headgear products (Class 25 of the NICE classification).

ITV companies have shown a positive trend in apparent labor productivity (measured by GVA per worker), recording productivity increases above the national average. In 2022, on average, each ITV worker contributed approximately €21,252 (up from €20,115 in 2021) to national wealth, although this remains below the average for all companies in Portugal, which was €28,857 (up from €25,710 in 2021).