The Confederation of Portuguese Business (CIP) has urged the establishment of an industrial health policy, highlighting that the sector’s export figures have increased by 85% in the first half of the year.
In a statement released today, João Pedro Almeida Lopes, president of the CIP’s Health, Prevention and Well-Being Council, advocated for the development of a health industrial policy, emphasizing that “Portuguese entrepreneurs and researchers are aligned with this national strategy.”
To achieve this, he stressed the importance of involving the ministries of State Reform, Health, Economy and Territorial Cohesion, and Education, Science and Innovation to “reduce contextual costs” and “create conditions to attract investment and increase the country’s industrial capacity in the health sector.”
According to data from the Portuguese Investment and Foreign Trade Agency (AICEP), health sector exports surged by 85% in the first semester, continuing the growth noted the previous year.
In February, AICEP, based on data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), reported that health exports rose by 21.6% in 2024, exceeding 4 billion euros.
“As is well known, all the world’s more developed countries have strong health sectors in terms of R&D [research and development] and industry, and Portugal has all the conditions to follow this pattern,” João Pedro Almeida Lopes added.
According to him, with the existing competencies in Portugal and the investments made and potential ones, it is possible to diversify markets and boost exports not just of goods, such as pharmaceuticals or medical devices, “but also services, namely through conducting clinical trials.”
Last year, the U.S. market accounted for 29.6% of health product exports, followed by Germany at 27.5%, along with Spain, France, and Belgium.
Reaching 4.036 billion euros, the health sector accounted for 5.1% of national exports.
