The Algarve needs new investments to revitalise its economy and tackle its €100 million goods trade deficit, says the region’s largest business association NERA.
“Unlike the services sector, the Algarve has a €100 million deficit in goods. We import products like figs and almonds from Spain, Turkey and the USA, when 30 years ago we were exporting those products all over the world,” NERA president Vítor Neto told Lusa news agency.
His statement came after the presentation of the ‘Algarve REVIT+’ programme which aims to help small- and medium-sized businesses use new management and marketing schemes to grow.
Neto believes that the Algarve has everything it needs to increase its goods production, especially in terms of agriculture.
“We have the land and climate to produce all kinds of interesting things which allow us to look to the future with optimism,” he said.
The business boss added that an initiative is planned for June 22 that will focus on “the history of agriculture, what is being done in the sector and the potential that exists in the Algarve to produce for our own goods and to export”.
He explained that “it’s senseless” for a region like the Algarve to import the goods that it could be producing”.
Neto hopes that the new ‘Algarve REVIT+’ scheme can help revitalise not only the agricultural sector but other industries.
Three ‘business areas’ that were considered in special need of a breath of new life were Lagos, Tavira and Vilamoura, which will be the focus of efforts to make them more modern, provide them with better infrastructures and generally improve their image so that more companies will be interested in setting up a base there.
The programme is promoted by NERA with the help of the Algarve municipalities association (AMAL) and the regional development commission (CCDR Algarve), and is co-financed by CrescAlgarve 2020, Portugal 2020 and FEDER.
michael.bruxo@algarveresident.com
