In the first five months of 2104, Portugal recorded a trade deficit of €4.1 billion, the fifth largest in the European Union and a shock to the government whose main aim is to persuade the elctorate how much better everything is getting.
By May, the UK, France, Spain, Greece had the largest difference between exports and imports, as show in data published today by Eurostat; Portugal was just behind Greece.
In Portugal's case the trade balance was dramatically worse than over the same period last year, when its international trade deficit was bad enough at €3.4 billion.
With a negative balance of €48.1 billion, the booming United Kingdom still managed the largest trade deficit due a surge in domestic demand, followed by France with a deficit of €30.4 billion, then Spain with a negative balance of €10.1 billion and lastly Greece with a deficit of €8.8 billion.
Germany, Holland, Ireland and Italy, had the largest surpluses with Germany's at a stonking €84 billion. The Netherlands was in surplus by €25.2 billion followed by Ireland and Italy with €14.1 billion each.
There has been no comment yet from the Minister for the Economy in Portugal, Pires de Lima, who has seized on slim trade surplus figures in past months to hammer home the misleading message that the Portuguese economy is growing and the electorate has nothing to worry its pretty little head about.
With domestic demand ser4ving to increase imports, the government's tax plans in tatters, fiddled unemployment figures and an election coming up in a year's time there needs to be sustained good news from here on in for the current administration to have any chance of be re-elected.
