Noteworthy Portuguese shoppers spent more on food Portuguese consumers spent €6.48 billion on retail food between January and mid-August 2021, representing a 2.4% growth year-on-year.
Portuguese broadband speeds up Over three-quarters (78.1%) of homes in Portugal subscribed to high-speed fixed Internet access as of the first half of this year.
Expenditures on grocery items amounted to over €2.5 billion or 39.2% of the total, followed by dairy products at €1.09 billion (-1% year-on-year) and frozen goods at €512 million. Sales of alcoholic drinks continued last year’s positive trend (+9%) and grew by 11% this year, indicating that the change in consumption habits are here to stay. Non-alcoholic beverages saw a 5% increase in sales, versus 1% in the same period last year.
According to data published by the regulator (ANACOM), above average penetration was seen in the regions of Lisbon (93%), Azores (89.1%), Madeira (87.2%) and Algarve (79.3%), while the North (74%), Centre (68.1%) and the Alentejo (57.9%) regions, with lower penetration, grew above the national average.
Since the beginning of 2021, Portuguese households have spent €1.1 billion on personal and home hygiene products. Source: European Supermarket Magazine
Source: Broadband TV News Rental increases across Portugal Median rent on new leases “increased by 11.5 % in (2021’s) second quarter, compared to 5.3% during the previous quarter, and the number of new contracts also increased by 49.3%,” reported the INE. According to the local housing rental statistics of the National Statistics Institute (INE), “in the second quarter of 2021, the median income of the 20,568 new rental contracts in Portugal reached 6-03 €/m2, value that represents an annual change of + 11.5% in the country, higher than in the previous quarter (+ 5.3 %) “ Source: Canal Alentejo
photo: Portugal Homes
Foreigners represent 0.3 percent of voters While there are some 590,000 foreign residents in Portugal, just under 30,000 are registered to vote in elections. Only 0.3 percent of those registered on the electoral roll were born outside Portugal, with Lisbon, Faro and Setúbal having the largest number of foreign voters. The census data also show that 29,814 of registered voters are foreigners, of which 13,924 are from Member States of the European Union and 15,890 from third countries, with emphasis on Cape Verde, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Venezuela. Districts with the most foreign voters registered to vote in the next municipal elections are Lisbon (10,408), Faro (8,824), Setúbal (2,708), Leiria (1,108), Porto (1,046). and Beja (936), according to data collected by ECO. Source: The Portugal News 8
Portugal Living Magazine
Minimum wage to increase by more than 30 euros The Minister of State and Finance, João Leão, alluded to an increase in the national minimum wage of more than 30 Euros this year. In an interview with TVI about the proposed State Budget for 2022 (OE2022), João Leão said that the increase in the national minimum wage, which in 2021 rose 30 Euros, setting at 665 Euros, “will be in line” with the increase for this year “or even higher.” In the report that accompanies the proposal of OE2022, the Government ensures that the national minimum wage will increase again next year to reach 750 Euros in 2023. Source: The Portugal News/Lusa Increasing complaints about foreign driving license problems Almost 4,000 complaints against IMT were registered on the Portal da Queixa between January and September 2021, with driving license problems being one of the main reasons for complaints.
