Portugal THE INDUSTRIAL SECTOR
Figure 8. Economic Activity, 1992
Petroleum refinery near Lisbon
Courtesy General Directorate of Mass Communication, Lisbon
Unavailable
Cement factory in the Estremadura region
Courtesy General Directorate of Mass Communication, Lisbon
The growth of Portugal's industrial sector since the
revolution was less dynamic than in the 1960-73 period. In
this
later period, growth was strongly affected by a number of
major
events, both domestic and external: the two oil price
hikes, the
nationalizations of 1975-76, and the country's accession
to the
EC. Nevertheless, Portugal's industrial production grew at
a
respectable 4.8 percent annual rate during the 1980-89
decade,
leading GDP growth (2.7 percent annually). The overall
industrial
index advanced 43 percent between 1980 and 1989, with
significant
divergence in the growth rates among the subsectors of
manufacturing (39 percent); electricity, gas, and water
(74
percent); and mining (74 percent). Mining output was
stagnant
from 1980 to 1988, but in the following year it surged by
74
percent as the Neves Castro copper mine went into
operation.
Manufacturing, the largest component of the industrial
sector,
also showed marked growth differences among the several
branches.
Lumber and cork products, a traditional rural-based
industry,
declined by 26 percent during the decade; on the other
hand,
paper (75 percent), chemicals and plastics products (97
percent),
and nonmetallic mineral products (65 percent) led the
advance in
manufacturing.
Data as of January 1993
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