The Portuguese exports of metallurgy and metalworking reached a new record of 23.08 billion euros in 2022, 16.1% more than in 2021, collecting seven of the best monthly marks ever, advanced this Thursday the sectorial association.

“In the whole 12 months of 2022, Metal Portugal companies sold abroad 23,080 million euros, showing a growth of 16.1% compared to 2021, accumulating the seven best months ever and six records above 2000 million euros,” highlights the Association of Metallurgical, Metal Mechanical and Related Industries of Portugal (AIMMAP) in a statement.

“So — it adds — if 2021 was until now the best year ever, 2022 now occupies that place, surpassing the figure reached the previous year by 3194 million euros.”

In the month of December 2022 alone, Portuguese exports in the sector totaled 1706 million euros, up 10% from December 2021.

Despite the good results obtained, the association considers that, “in the current situation, the outlook for the first quarter of 2023 must necessarily follow very cautious criteria” and warns that, “for Metal Portugal to continue to be the engine and the oxygen balloon of the Portuguese economy and society, it is imperative that measures are adopted to mitigate some of the major obstacles.

“In this context of global crisis, the Metal Portugal companies will remain resilient and give evidence that they know how to use the characteristics that best differentiate them to break into and conquer new markets. Nevertheless, it is known the important direct and indirect impact that the sector has throughout the national economy and it is urgent that we adopt measures sufficiently competent to mitigate the major obstacles,” argues the executive vice president of AIMMAP, quoted in the statement.

Specifically, Rafael Campos Pereira considers it “essential that the Portuguese government join its Spanish counterpart in asking the European Commission to extend until the end of 2024 the Iberian exception that covers Portugal and Spain since June 15, 2022, which establishes a maximum price on gas for electricity production.

Additionally, and “in a context where the current situation leads companies to face unaffordable cost structures”, the association leader reiterates that “the promised and successively postponed tax reform would allow for a fair and expressive relief of the burdens that companies bear in order to simply carry out their activities and create wealth for the entire country”.

Last year, AIMMAP states that “the sub-sectors base metallurgy, metal products and machinery and equipment were those that, together, contributed most” to the result obtained, “followed by transport material.

The countries that had the highest absolute growth were Germany, Spain, France, the USA, Angola, Ireland, and Italy.

The association highlights the fact that this is “a group of countries that, in its vast majority, is characterized by an enormous sophistication and demand, a fact that is not surprising given the sustained commitment of Metal Portugal in quality, innovation and added value.

From this group of countries, and isolating the three main markets of Metal Portugal — Spain, France and Germany — the AIMMAP highlights the latter, with a growth rate of about 23%, “reflecting the bet” made by the association in these markets, where “for almost 20 years it has promoted various initiatives.

Among these, he highlights the sector’s collective participation in Hannover Messe, “the most important world industry and technology fair, considered by many to be one of the great engines of the German economy, with a huge impact on all European economic activity, and in which Portugal was the 2022 partner country.

Also the USA “continues to register an impressive growth”, with a rate of 60.4%, “reflecting the great expectations that companies have about that market and leaving clearly underlined that the Metal Portugal companies that export successfully to countries like Germany and France can also do it to the USA”.

Sales to the United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland) recovered and accelerated the growth path, increasing 8.9%, while Sweden and the Netherlands — “markets of great importance and that assume prominence in the internationalization plan designed by AIMMAP” — continued “to grow consistently and very expressively”: 33.2% and 18%.

For the association, the 2022 numbers “reflect a record that, year after year, gains consistency, in which, each year, the sector manages to surpass itself and beat new records.

“In fact, the last few years have been illustrated with the scenario of the best year ever for the sector’s exports, a figure that is soon surpassed the following year, when a new record is reached,” he recalls, noting that “2020 was an exception, reflecting the exceptional and unprecedented nature of the impacts of the pandemic and the restrictive measures adopted in the meantime.

For the executive vice-president of AIMMAP, this is “a consistency only possible in a sector of excellence that, to beat the export record, beats many other records.

“We are talking about a sector that is at the forefront of investment in quality, innovation, technology, training, as well as in standards of sustainability crucial in positioning the sector, which every day scales to higher levels in extremely demanding and sophisticated markets,” says Rafael Campos Pereira.

Because it is an alloy composed of iron and chromium, sometimes containing molybdenum, nickel, and other elements, the stainless steel tank has a higher resistance to oxidation than other metal alloys. Tanks made of this material can last up to 20 years with proper care and regular sanitation. Because it is made of a highly rigid material, it is one of the most used containers in the food industry for storage, because it does not contaminate the organic materials it contains.

Some of the main properties of the stainless steel tank: high resistance to corrosion; adequate mechanical resistance; easy cleaning/low surface roughness; hygienic appearance; inert material; easy forming; easy joining; high temperature resistance, resistance to sudden temperature variations; varied surface finishing and shapes; strong visual appeal (modernity, lightness, and prestige); favorable cost/benefit ratio, among others.

Matheus Henrique Marques Polo, Project and Sales Engineer at Polo Equipamentos, notes that: “regarding the stainless steel tank, nowadays all possible cares with the storage of certain industrial products are necessary. Both because of the consumers’ health and the economy of resources that a correct storage brings. In times of crisis, any contamination in agricultural products, cosmetics and food, can cause huge losses for the manufacturer or distributor.

According to Brazil Steel’s monthly statistics, Brazil ranks ninth among the countries that produce the most steel in the planet, and first in the Latin American ranking. The export of this type of alloy in January 2022 was 4,932 tons. Stainless steel is extremely important for industries all over the globe and therefore moves the market both in imports and exports.