Over the past five years 13 foreign shoe companies, including big international groups such as Britain’s C&J Clark, have closed plants in Portugal, leaving more than 5,000 people out of work. 

Their departure for lower-cost locations in Asia and eastern Europe dealt a heavy blow to small northern towns such as Felgueiras and Santa Maria de Feira, the heart of the Portuguese footwear industry, which accounts for almost 5 per cent of the country’s total exports and 6.5 per cent of manufacturing jobs.