Denmark imported DKK 916.2 million of goods from Portugal in July–September 2026, 14.0% more than the DKK 803.8 million of the third quarter of 2025, according to monthly trade figures that Statistics Denmark (DST) updated this morning, 9 November, with September data. At the European Central Bank’s third-quarter average of about DKK 7.475 to the euro, that is roughly €123 million. It is the strongest third quarter in DST’s current monthly series, which starts in January 2022, ahead of DKK 904 million in 2024 and DKK 898 million in 2023. September alone came to DKK 278.8 million, 1.2% above September 2025.
The growth came from textiles and building materials rather than from Portugal’s traditional lead products. Two groups each roughly doubled and set the highest quarterly totals in the series, while footwear and clothing, the two largest lines, both fell back in the quarter.
Textiles and stone: two record quarters
Imports of textile yarn, fabrics and made-up articles (SITC 65) reached DKK 93.1 million in the third quarter, against DKK 46.9 million a year earlier. The previous quarterly high was DKK 89 million in April–June 2026; before this year the group had never passed DKK 82 million in a quarter. DST’s eight-digit table (KN8MEST), which has July and August detail, shows where the growth sits: binder and baler twine of polyethylene or polypropylene (CN 5607.41) came to DKK 19.1 million in the two months, against DKK 4.7 million a year earlier, and terry kitchen and toilet linen (CN 6302.60) to DKK 15.6 million, against DKK 5.3 million. Both are product lines with established Portuguese manufacturers.
Non-metallic mineral manufactures (SITC 66), which covers ceramics, glass, natural stone and concrete products, rose to DKK 107.5 million from DKK 52.9 million. July’s DKK 56.4 million included the DKK 37.0 million of precast concrete building components that NorthSouth HQ reported in October, when Portugal briefly became Denmark’s largest supplier under that code. The August detail now confirms that the flow stopped: KN8MEST records no Portuguese precast elements in August, consistent with a single contract that has been delivered. September, however, brought another strong month for the group at DKK 34.5 million, almost three times the DKK 12.2 million of September 2025. DST has not yet published the eight-digit breakdown for September, so the products behind it cannot yet be identified.
| Denmark imports from Portugal, DKK million | Q3 2025 | Q3 2026 | Sep 2025 | Sep 2026 | Jan–Sep 2026 | Change YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 84 Clothing and accessories | 143.5 | 122.0 | 32.8 | 43.0 | 454.3 | +13% |
| 85 Footwear | 150.5 | 142.8 | 48.9 | 30.9 | 400.3 | +5% |
| 65 Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles | 46.9 | 93.1 | 15.9 | 23.1 | 233.8 | +39% |
| 66 Non-metallic mineral manufactures | 52.9 | 107.5 | 12.2 | 34.5 | 229.6 | +38% |
| 11 Beverages | 60.2 | 55.5 | 28.9 | 28.1 | 136.9 | +3% |
| 69 Manufactures of metals | 31.8 | 38.3 | 11.1 | 10.2 | 109.9 | −26% |
| 74 General industrial machinery | 29.1 | 45.4 | 8.6 | 6.0 | 100.1 | +2% |
| 24 Cork and wood | 12.1 | 36.2 | 10.4 | 2.3 | 86.8 | +133% |
| 54 Medicinal and pharmaceutical products | 56.5 | 14.9 | 25.2 | 3.0 | 81.7 | −73% |
| All goods | 803.8 | 916.2 | 275.6 | 278.8 | 2,616.1 | +4% |
Source: Statistics Denmark, StatBank table SITC2R4 (imports by SITC two-digit group and country, general trade, DKK thousand converted to DKK million), updated 9 November 2026. Eight-digit detail from table KN8MEST (July and August 2026). 2026 figures are preliminary.
Footwear slips, and August is revised down
Footwear (SITC 85) fell 5.1% in the third quarter to DKK 142.8 million, and September was weak: DKK 30.9 million, 36.8% below the DKK 48.9 million of September 2025. Clothing (SITC 84) dropped 15% in the quarter to DKK 122.0 million, although September itself was up. For the first nine months both groups are still ahead of last year, clothing by 13.1% at DKK 454.3 million and footwear by 5.0% at DKK 400.3 million. The footwear figures land days after Danish shoemaker ECCO said it would close its factory in Santa Maria da Feira. Trade statistics do not identify companies, and nothing in September’s numbers can be attributed to ECCO, but the closure removes one of the largest Danish-owned producers of footwear in Portugal from the supply chain in the coming months.
DST has also revised August substantially. The first estimate, published on 9 October and reported by NorthSouth HQ, put imports from Portugal at DKK 304.9 million and footwear at DKK 77.5 million. The current figures are DKK 265.2 million in total and DKK 48.6 million for footwear. August is still up 10% on a year earlier, but it is no longer the exceptional month the first estimate suggested, and the October article has been updated. DST’s 2026 figures remain preliminary.
Pellets, port and the pharma gap
Cork and wood (SITC 24) almost tripled to DKK 86.8 million in January–September, still driven by wood pellets (CN 4401.31): Denmark imported DKK 33.1 million, or 16,103 tonnes, of Portuguese pellets in July and August alone, after none in the same months of 2025. Beverages were flat in the quarter, and port in bottles of two litres or less (CN 2204.21.89) fell to DKK 18.1 million in July–August from DKK 40.3 million a year earlier.
For January–September, imports from Portugal total DKK 2.62 billion, about €350 million, up 4.0%. As in earlier months, the headline is held down by medicinal and pharmaceutical products, which fell from DKK 301.9 million to DKK 81.7 million. Without that group, Danish imports from Portugal rose 14.4%, from DKK 2.21 billion to DKK 2.53 billion. In the other direction, Danish exports to Portugal rose 9.2% to DKK 3.67 billion, giving Denmark a surplus of about DKK 1.05 billion. Danish pharmaceutical exports to Portugal also fell, by 26% to DKK 798 million, while power-generating machinery rose from DKK 23 million to DKK 185 million.
What it means for Portuguese suppliers
The quarter shows the Danish market broadening beyond shoes and clothing. Technical and household textiles, stone and ceramics, and biomass now account for a growing share of what Denmark buys from Portugal, and in each case the gain is coming from specific product lines rather than across the board. That makes the business more exposed to individual contracts, as the precast episode showed, but it also shows Danish buyers sourcing heavy and specialised goods from the far end of Europe. For footwear, the fourth quarter will be the test: September’s drop is one month, but it comes as one of the corridor’s biggest Danish-owned manufacturers prepares to leave Portugal. Statistics Denmark is due to publish October trade data in early December.
Sources: Statistics Denmark, StatBank tables SITC2R4 and KN8MEST (accessed 9 November 2026); European Central Bank euro reference rates (monthly averages, July–September 2026). Quarterly totals, growth rates and euro conversions are NorthSouth HQ calculations from DST’s monthly figures.