Exports from Portuguese-speaking countries to China have dropped by 12.6% in the first seven months of 2025 compared to the same period last year, it was announced today.
According to the Chinese Customs Authorities, from January to July, the Lusophone bloc exported goods worth $72.4 billion (€61.9 billion) to the Chinese market.
The data, compiled by the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries (Forum Macao), indicates that this is the lowest value for the first seven months of a year since 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decline was mainly attributed to Brazil — by far the largest Lusophone supplier to the Chinese market — whose sales fell 12.4% to $60.6 billion (€51.8 billion).
Additionally, Angola, the second-largest Chinese trading partner in the Lusophone bloc, saw its exports decrease by 16.8% to $8.66 billion (€7.4 billion).
Goods sales from Portugal to China fell by 3.7% to $1.69 billion (€1.44 billion).
Six out of the nine Portuguese-speaking countries experienced a drop in their exports to the Chinese market.
Equatorial Guinea’s sales to China fell by nearly a third (31.1%) to $464.3 million (€397 million), while East Timor’s exports shrank by more than half (58.2%) to $139,000 (€119,000).
Cape Verde’s shipments decreased by 84.3%, although it sold only around $1,000 (€855) in goods.
The major exception was Mozambique, whose sales increased by 15.7% to $982.5 million (€839.9 million), while São Tomé and Príncipe’s exports grew eightfold to $41,000 (€35,000).
Guinea-Bissau did not export any goods to China in the first seven months of 2025, similar to the same period last year.
Conversely, Chinese exports to Portuguese-speaking countries marked the best start of the year ever, rising by 1.1% to $49.9 billion (€42.6 billion).
This is the highest value for the first seven months of a year since Forum Macao started presenting these figures in 2013.
The data reveals that Brazil remains the largest buyer in the Lusophone bloc, although imports from China fell by 2.9% compared to the same period in 2024, to $40.4 billion (€34.5 billion).
In contrast, the second on the list, Portugal, purchased goods from China worth $3.93 billion (€3.36 billion) between January and July, an increase of 9%.
Despite selling more and buying less, China continues to record a trade deficit with the Lusophone bloc, reaching $22.5 billion (€19.3 billion) in the first seven months of 2025.
In total, trade exchanges between Portuguese-speaking countries and China reached $122.3 billion (€104.5 billion), down 7.5% compared to the same period last year.
