Portugal bought €1,563.5 million of goods from Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Iceland in January–September 2026, 1.5% less than a year earlier, according to the country tables published with Statistics Portugal’s (INE) September trade release on 9 November. Total Portuguese imports grew 5.7% over the same months. The aggregate hides sharply different stories: Danish sales to Portugal rose 20.1%, while Swedish sales fell 9.1% and Norwegian sales 39.4%. Eurostat’s Comext product breakdown of INE’s data, which runs to August, shows why: Danish wheat and barley arriving where there had been none, Swedish car shipments halving again, and much less Norwegian salt cod.
| Portuguese imports from | Jan–Sep 2025 (€M) | Jan–Sep 2026 (€M) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 767.5 | 697.6 | −9.1% |
| Denmark | 465.6 | 559.0 | +20.1% |
| Finland | 240.8 | 229.9 | −4.5% |
| Norway | 103.1 | 62.5 | −39.4% |
| Iceland | 10.4 | 14.5 | +40.2% |
| Five Nordic countries | 1,587.3 | 1,563.5 | −1.5% |
Source: INE, Estatísticas do Comércio Internacional, September 2026 (9 November 2026), tables Q007 and Q016; NorthSouth HQ calculations. 2026 figures are preliminary.
Because Portuguese exports to the same five countries rose 13.6%, as reported separately today, Portugal’s goods surplus with the region widened from €96.9 million to €349.5 million in nine months.
Denmark: grain from nothing
Denmark is now Portugal’s second-largest Nordic supplier by a widening margin over Finland, and the only large one growing. In Comext’s January–August figures, Danish sales to Portugal rose from €399.0 million to €488.9 million. The single biggest addition is cereals: €43.7 million, against nothing in the same months of 2025 — €26.3 million of wheat and meslin and €17.5 million of barley, shipped in several consignments between February and August, the largest €13.2 million of wheat in August. Portugal produces only a small share of the grain it uses and buys most of it abroad; Danish grain had barely featured in recent years: in January–August 2024 it amounted to €1.6 million of wheat. Organic chemicals rose from €0.9 million to €23.6 million, electrical equipment from €19.0 million to €31.9 million, and perfumery and cosmetics from €24.2 million to €35.5 million.
Against that, pharmaceuticals — Denmark’s largest line to Portugal in 2025 — fell from €102.1 million to €66.9 million. Fish was flat at about €62 million, but within it Danish salted and dried fish, a bacalhau channel, slipped from €7.7 million to €5.7 million.
Sweden: fewer cars, more trucks
Swedish sales to Portugal fell from €636.9 million to €610.9 million in January–August. Passenger cars (CN 8703) halved for a second year running, to €29.6 million from €60.4 million in 2025 and €86.2 million in 2024. Goods vehicles (CN 8704) moved the other way, to €55.3 million from €38.8 million and €16.9 million — consistent with registration data showing Volvo taking about 30% of the Portuguese heavy-truck market this year. Mineral fuels fell from €25.8 million to €11.0 million and electrical equipment from €31.8 million to €22.3 million, while pharmaceuticals rose from €57.4 million to €68.4 million.
Sweden’s largest single line remains fish: €124.6 million, of which €84.8 million was salted, dried or smoked fish (CN 0305). Sweden has little cod industry of its own; as Statistics Sweden’s data showed in September, most of this is Norwegian salt cod passing through Sweden. September was particularly weak for Swedish sales in INE’s figures: €80.7 million, against €130.6 million in September 2025.
Norway: the salt cod drop
Norway’s direct sales fell from €78.9 million to €59.8 million in January–August, and almost all of the fall is fish. Imports of Norwegian salted and dried fish recorded with Norway as the partner country dropped from €39.2 million to €14.0 million, or 64%. That fits what Norwegian exporters themselves report: the Norwegian Seafood Council’s October figures showed clipfish volumes to Portugal down 29% and salted cod down 38% in October compared with October 2025, with retail prices of dried cod in Portugal up about a quarter. How Norwegian fish is routed — directly, or through Swedish and Danish traders — also moves the split between the three countries from year to year.
Finland’s sales slipped from €211.8 million to €198.9 million, mostly on machinery (€56.4 million to €45.7 million), steel and wood pulp, partly offset by electrical equipment (€14.2 million to €23.9 million). Iceland, the smallest supplier, grew on iron and steel, which rose from €2.3 million to €4.8 million, while fish held at €7.3 million.
What it means for Nordic sellers
For Nordic companies selling into Portugal, the data describe a market that is growing — Portuguese imports overall are up 5.7% — but in which Nordic suppliers as a group are not keeping pace. The growth pockets are specific: Danish agricultural commodities and chemicals, Swedish heavy vehicles, Finnish electrical equipment. The traditional pillars — Swedish cars, Danish pharmaceuticals, Norwegian salt cod — are all lower. With the Christmas bacalhau season under way, the fourth quarter will show whether the cod decline was price-driven and temporary or a lasting loss of volume.
Sources: INE, international trade release for September 2026 and Excel tables (9 November 2026); Eurostat Comext DS-045409, imports by reporter Portugal, partner and CN chapter/heading (accessed 10 November 2026). Comext product data for September are not yet available.