Northern Region proves to be more resilient to the pandemic constraints as export rates continue to grow

Export enterprises in the Northern Region are adapting better to the economic decline caused by the pandemic, and in some cases there is a “surprising growth” as is the case of Critical Software, which closed the year as a whole with exports up by 11%, a total turnover of 64 million euros.

In 2020, The North continued to run a substantial trade surplus, amounting to 4.5 billion euros, with a coverage rate of 128%, when the annual average is 79.3%. This data is revealed by Jornal de Notícias, in its 17th February edition, and further informs, based on the Entrepreneurial Association of Portugal (AEP), that the Northern Region export industry enterprises kept selling, last year, with losses below the national average. Also, there are cases of expansion in the international market.

Such is the case of the ITC sector as “in the Northern Region alone, over 16 thousand export companies were challenged by Covid-19 constraints, last year. The majority managed to respond, reinventing itself, and in some cases, was even able to find new routes. More traditional sectors, as textile, responded by manufacturing certified face masks, increasing sales in 18%. Technological companies met the global demand for digital investment and extended businesses with international markets”, highlights the news article.

Critical Software, which established in Porto in 2017, was able to consolidate in foreign markets, owing to a strategy of export services of 85%, to more than two dozen markets, the most relevant being the German market (29%) and the British (26%). To JN, Pedro Murtinho Critical Software Financial Director explains that although they did not escape the crisis scot free, especially with the impact on the aviation sector, “there have been sectors that responded well namely transports – we have Rail projects in the UK, USA, Germany, Switzerland and Sweden-, energy, banking, insurance and telecommunications”.

In addition, the Portuguese company Critical Software and BMW joint venture, which have led to the establishment and settling in Porto city centre of the Critical TechWorks company, reported an annual turnover of 57 million euros in 2020, and want to hire more employees and set them to success.

Following a more broader assessment, the news article by JN indicates that, based on information by Informa D&B consulting company, the majority of export companies based in the Northern Region of the country presents “a minimum or reduced risk of closing business in the coming 12 months without paying their debts (77%) and a high to medium resilience capacity (83%)”.

“Being a Northerner” makes all the difference

Luís Miguel Ribeiro, President of the AEP, stated that “Northerners” are one of the main competitive assets of the export companies in the region, as cited by JN. The reason is, once again, “the efforts entrepreneurs are making to keep workers, as they will need them to fully recover”, this is the main reason, above government support, why the unemployment rate is lower in the North.

It should be highlighted that the Commission for the Coordination of Regional Development of the North (CCDRN) already noted the good results by the Northern Region in the second quarter, between April and June, with a dynamic export market and taking the lead at national level.