Portugal - Market Opportunities Portugal- Market Opportunities
Market Opportunities
Portuguese tend to perceive American products as being of high quality, but not price competitive. U.S. firms should stress price/quality competitive advantages when trying to enter the Portuguese market.
The Portuguese market is larger than it may initially appear. While there are only 10.3 million people in Portugal, there are well over 250 million people who speak Portuguese worldwide. Former Portuguese colonies, including Macau, Mozambique, Angola and Brazil, have close business ties with Portugal. U.S. companies can often find avenues to these other markets through Portugal and, indeed, the Portuguese Business Promotion Agency (AICEP) actively markets the country as a “gateway” economy into third markets, particularly in Lusophone Africa.
Portugal is an excellent entry point or test market for U.S. firms looking to establish access into the EU. The country is politically stable; the crime rate is relatively low; the bilateral relationship is strong; English is widely spoken; and the population is very friendly toward Americans. Both physical and IT Infrastructure are well developed, and the cost of doing business in Portugal is significantly lower as compared to other countries in Western Europe. Companies that have already penetrated one EU country will have met the requirements for Portugal as well.