Foreign exchange rates trouble Portugal

Currency exchange rates have proved a problem for Portugal's industry.

Following the effects of the global recession, business in the European country is still struggling to get off the ground.

The high value currently placed on the euro is making matters harder as a business owner told the Daily Telegraph.

Paul Symington, who owns drinks brands including Graham's Port, told the paper that the lack of an independent currency was having a strong effect on the country.

"It's tough, because we export so much outside the eurozone. We can no longer adjust our domestic currency downwards to make ourselves more competitive," Mr Symington told the news agency.

A geography graduate also spoke to the BBC detailing how he was made redundant from an electronic mapping company in Portugal.

The graduate Pedro Almeida believes that the euro is partly to blame for job losses across the country as employers are beginning to look to countries outside the eurozone in which they can employ people for less.

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Posted by Chris Barber