Norway imported NOK 506 million of goods from Portugal in September 2026, 53% more than the NOK 331 million recorded in September 2025, according to monthly trade figures that Statistics Norway (SSB) published on 15 October. At Norges Bank’s September average exchange rate of NOK 10.80 to the euro, that is about €47 million, and it is the third-largest monthly total in SSB’s series since 2018. Zinc ore accounted for much of the increase, as it has all year. The more unusual part of the month is in machinery: a single commodity line, ship and boat propellers and their blades, was worth NOK 44.3 million.
Propellers, lifts and gas generators
SSB’s commodity-level table (08799) records 309 tonnes of propellers and propeller blades (customs code 8487.1001) imported from Portugal in September. A year earlier there were none. The largest previous month since 2018 was September 2024, at NOK 3.5 million, so September’s figure is more than twelve times that. A weight of 309 tonnes points to a small number of very large propellers of the kind fitted to ocean-going ships, not a run of small-boat parts. SSB does not name importers or exporters, and NorthSouth HQ has not been able to identify the supplier or the vessel programme involved.
Two other machinery lines also jumped from almost nothing. Lifts and skip hoists (8428.1009) were worth NOK 7.4 million (58 tonnes); since 2018 the only other month with a meaningful figure was December 2022, at NOK 0.6 million. Producer-gas and water-gas generators (8405.10) came to NOK 8.5 million (45 tonnes), against a previous monthly high of NOK 0.4 million in March 2018. Together, the three lines total NOK 60.2 million. That is most of the NOK 64.8 million Norway recorded under SITC group 74, general industrial machinery, from Portugal in September, against NOK 7.9 million a year earlier.
Machinery up 44% for the year
These cargoes add to a stronger year for Portuguese machinery in Norway. Imports under SITC section 7, machinery and transport equipment, reached NOK 456.9 million in January–September 2026, 44% more than the NOK 317.3 million of the same period of 2025 and close to the 2022 level (NOK 457.2 million). General industrial machinery more than doubled, from NOK 58.0 million to NOK 132.5 million. Electrical machinery, the growth line NorthSouth HQ reported in its January–July analysis, rose 69% to NOK 238.1 million. Within that, automatic circuit breakers (8536.20) brought in NOK 8.1 million in September alone, against NOK 5.0 million a year earlier. Outside chapter 84, imports of medical and surgical instruments (9018.90) rose from NOK 0.2 million to NOK 8.0 million in the month. Norwegian imports of polished granite (6802.93) reached NOK 7.6 million, or 5,563 tonnes, their largest month since at least 2018.
| Norway imports from Portugal, NOK million | Sep 2025 | Sep 2026 | Jan–Sep 2025 | Jan–Sep 2026 | Change YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Metalliferous ores and scrap | 81.4 | 191.3 | 876.2 | 1,212.2 | +38% |
| 7 Machinery and transport equipment | 38.4 | 87.9 | 317.3 | 456.9 | +44% |
| 74 General industrial machinery | 7.9 | 64.8 | 58.0 | 132.5 | +128% |
| 77 Electrical machinery | 16.3 | 18.1 | 141.3 | 238.1 | +69% |
| 84 Clothing and accessories | 29.7 | 26.8 | 261.4 | 267.8 | +2% |
| 85 Footwear | 21.3 | 19.4 | 182.8 | 185.4 | +1% |
| 05 Vegetables and fruit | 14.5 | 15.4 | 169.3 | 148.1 | −13% |
| 11 Beverages | 14.9 | 12.9 | 137.9 | 124.6 | −10% |
| 54 Medicinal and pharmaceutical products | 10.7 | 10.6 | 80.3 | 90.6 | +13% |
| All goods | 330.8 | 506.0 | 3,178.9 | 3,583.0 | +13% |
Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), StatBank table 08806 (imports by country and SITC group, NOK thousand converted to NOK million), updated 15 October 2026; commodity detail from table 08799. Figures for 2026 are preliminary.
The year so far: a record, mostly because of zinc
For January–September, Norway’s imports from Portugal totalled NOK 3.58 billion, about €332 million at September’s exchange rate and 12.7% more than a year earlier. That is the highest nine-month total in SSB’s data since at least 2018, although only just ahead of 2022 (NOK 3.579 billion). Most of the increase is ore. Zinc ores and concentrates were worth NOK 191.3 million in September (14,846 tonnes), and SITC group 28 has reached NOK 1.21 billion this year, up from NOK 876 million. Without that group, imports from Portugal rose only 3%, from NOK 2.30 billion to NOK 2.37 billion. Portugal’s consumer staples in Norway are mixed. Clothing and footwear are slightly ahead of last year, while beverages, mainly wine, are down 10% and fruit and vegetables down 13%. The September berry season was steady, with fresh raspberries and blackberries (0810.20) worth NOK 9.3 million, against NOK 8.1 million a year earlier.
What it means for Portuguese suppliers
Norway’s shipbuilding, offshore and aquaculture industries buy heavy marine and industrial equipment in large, irregular orders. September’s data show Portuguese-attributed goods winning some of that business, from propellers to lifting equipment and gas-generation plant. Taken together with the steadier rise in electrical machinery, they suggest Portugal’s engineering exporters are a growing presence in Norwegian industrial supply chains, beyond the clothing, footwear and wine that have long made up the trade. Three caveats apply. Monthly commodity figures are lumpy: one consignment can make a record, and September’s propeller line may not be repeated. SSB’s 2026 figures are preliminary and can be revised. And trade statistics attribute goods by country rather than by company, so they cannot show whether a cargo was made in Portugal by a Portuguese firm, by a foreign-owned plant, or routed through Portugal from elsewhere. Earlier this year, NorthSouth HQ’s report on the SustainablePackPT mission to Oslo covered SSB’s January–August figures. Statistics Norway will publish October trade data in mid-November.