At a news conference on Tuesday, the ATP stressed that the growth seen last year enabled the sector to reverse a longstanding trend of shrinking workforce, with 4,000 new jobs created.


According to the association's president, João Costa, the declared goal of reaching €5 billion in exports by 2020 - the level achieved in 2001 before China and India joined the World Trade Organisation and the European Union was forced to lower barriers to imports from those countries - could even be achieved earlier than expected.


This year, Costa stressed will be key to the industry, with the coming into effect of the new EU plan for the use of structural funds in the country, known as Portugal 2020.


The strong growth, he said, "shows the capacity of modernisation and renewal of the sector in the past few years", which was achieved "with fewer companies and about half as many workers as in 2001."


Now, he said there is now even a shortage of qualified workers in the sector.


On the future, Costa expressed concern about the new trade accord that is being negotiated between the EU on the one side and the US and Canada on the other. While textile exports to the US and Canada could jump from €200 million at present to some €500 million - their level of the 1980 and 90s, the deal must be fair on both sides.


Spain remains Portugal's biggest market, followed by France, the UK and Germany.


The district of Braga is Portugal's textile heartland, accounting for 57% of all the sector's turnover in Portugal.