Barometer Dashboard

Diversify Algarve.

An integrated overview of seven value chains with the potential to diversify the regional economy.

INE economic data · 2024, unless otherwise stated

Key indicators

Empresas (universo de referência)

4 001

Turnover

349,7 M€

Output

264,8 M€

Valor acrescentado bruto

117,7 M€

People employed

5 947

Net income

32,6 M€

Investimento (FBCF)

28,5 M€

Exports

116,2 M€

Methodology. The economic aggregate covers the seven local-resource value chains, but Beekeeping, Strawberry Tree and Wine have partial coverage for some indicators; values should be treated as minimums where this limitation is identified. Entrepreneur-survey results are not statistically representative, and the sample for each value chain is stated on its respective page.

Context

This dashboard brings together the main integrated indicators for the seven priority value chains of the Diversify Algarve project — Carob and Almond, Beekeeping, Citrus, Blue Economy, Strawberry Tree, Plants and Flowers, and Wine. For each value chain, it summarises results from the Entrepreneur Profile Studies developed by NERA — Algarve Business Association, as part of the Algarve Empreende 2026 Project. The project is promoted by the University of Algarve, AMAL, Algarve Evolution, Algarve STP, NERA and ANJE, and is part of the Research and Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialisation (RIS3 Algarve 2030), in the local resources domain. Economic indicators come from Statistics Portugal business demography and economic indicators by CAE for 2019–2024; entrepreneur profiles result from surveys of value-chain stakeholders. Data are reported as of July 2026 and the complete reports for each value chain are available for download in their respective sections.

Explore value chains

Discover value chains.

Select a value chain to view its main indicators. Reference periods may vary; the note indicates an exception where applicable.

2024

Carob and Almond

Agricultural production and processing of local resources.

Businesses

1,269 businesses

Turnover

41.5 €M

GVA

8.5 €M

People employed

1,353 people

Exports

2.2 €M

Integrated overview

Aggregate ecosystem scale.

The seven local-resource value chains as a whole: scale, regional weight and economic contribution.

Aggregate ecosystem scale

Businesses

4,001 businesses

Turnover

349.7 €M

Output

264.8 €M

GVA

117.7 €M

People employed

5,947 people

Net income

32.6 €M

Investment

28.5 €M

Exports

116.2 €M

Directly observable statistical aggregate (Statistics Portugal, 2024). Beekeeping, Strawberry Tree and Wine have partial coverage, so the values should be treated as minimums.

Regional weight

Contribution to the Algarve economy.

The weight of the observable ecosystem aggregate in the regional business economy.

Weight in the regional economy

%

Algarve goods exports

46.8 %

Food and beverage exports

57.1 %

Regional turnover

2.3 %

Regional GVA

2.1 %

Regional employment

2.5 %

Regional investment

2.5 %

Weight of the observable ecosystem aggregate in the Algarve business economy (Statistics Portugal, 2024). Local products are one of the main components of regional internationalisation.

National weight

Algarve share in local-product value chains.

The concentration of production in these value chains within the region, compared with the national total.

Algarve share of the national total for these value chains

%

Businesses

6.6 %

Turnover

4.9 %

GVA

6.5 %

Employment

6.1 %

Investment

5.7 %

Algarve share of the national total for local-product value chains (Statistics Portugal — Algarve/Portugal by CAE, latest available year). It excludes the Blue Economy and, for economic indicators, Strawberry Tree, because of coverage limitations.

Ecosystem composition

Weight of each value chain within the ecosystem.

Percentages calculated over the total of the seven value chains; they represent the internal composition of the ecosystem, not its weight in the total Algarve economy.

Businesses by value chain

%
  • Blue Economy33.4 %
  • Carob and Almond31.7 %
  • Citrus15.9 %
  • Strawberry Tree9.4 %
  • Beekeeping4.9 %
  • Plants and Flowers2.3 %
  • Wine2.3 %

Blue Economy and Carob and Almond account for around two-thirds of the ecosystem business base. Source: Statistics Portugal, 2024.

Turnover by value chain

%
  • Blue Economy55.2 %
  • Citrus17.6 %
  • Plants and Flowers13.7 %
  • Carob and Almond11.9 %
  • Wine1.6 %

Blue Economy accounts for more than half of ecosystem turnover. Beekeeping and Strawberry Tree have no attributable turnover. Source: Statistics Portugal, 2024.

GVA by value chain

%
  • Blue Economy48.7 %
  • Citrus22.7 %
  • Plants and Flowers19.7 %
  • Carob and Almond7.2 %
  • Wine1.7 %

Blue Economy generates almost half of observable ecosystem GVA. Beekeeping and Strawberry Tree have no attributable GVA. Source: Statistics Portugal, 2024.

Employment by value chain

%
  • Blue Economy44.6 %
  • Carob and Almond22.8 %
  • Citrus17.5 %
  • Plants and Flowers12.8 %
  • Wine2.3 %

Blue Economy accounts for around 45% of observable ecosystem employment. Source: Statistics Portugal, 2024.

Exports by value chain

%
  • Blue Economy40 %
  • Citrus39 %
  • Plants and Flowers18.8 %
  • Carob and Almond1.9 %
  • Wine0.3 %
  • Beekeeping0.2 %

Blue Economy, Citrus, and Plants and Flowers represent around 98% of identified ecosystem exports. Source: Statistics Portugal, 2024.

Productivity comparison

GVA per employee in the ecosystem and value chains.

Average ecosystem productivity is below the regional business average; Plants and Flowers and Citrus are above that benchmark.

Productivity benchmarks

GVA per employee · ecosystem

19.8 thousand €

GVA per employee · Algarve average

24.1 thousand €

Productivity by value chain

thousand € / employee
  • Plants and Flowers30.5 thousand € / employee
  • Citrus25.6 thousand € / employee
  • Blue Economy21.6 thousand € / employee
  • Wine14.6 thousand € / employee
  • Carob and Almond6.3 thousand € / employee

Plants and Flowers and Citrus are above the Algarve business average; Carob and Almond reflects business fragmentation. Source: Statistics Portugal, 2024.

Sources and resources

Sources, methodology and downloads.