The cost of manufacturing and placing them on the market exceeds their face value, and therefore, the country opted for a cheaper alternative to maintain supply. According to Jornal de Notícias, millions of 1- and 2-cent coins were imported to meet domestic needs, avoiding disruptions in circulation.

National production was reduced due to associated costs, and the solution found involved exchanging currency with other European Union countries. According to the same source, these exchanges occurred over the last seven years, involving member states that already apply rounding and have stopped using low-value coins.

The newspaper writes that, in 2024, Portugal received 26 million 1-cent coins and 34 million 2-cent coins in exchange for 1.1 million 50-cent coins and 195,000 2-euro coins, in a process carried out with Belgium and Slovakia. The publication adds that this operation follows recommendations sent annually by the Bank of Portugal to the National Mint, which assesses the quantities needed for circulation.

No shortage

The same source cites that the Ministry of Finance confirmed that these imports guaranteed supply between 2018 and 2024, ruling out the possibility of a shortage of this type of coin. Even so, the issue reached Parliament through a question from the Socialist Party, which received reports from merchants and citizens about difficulties in obtaining change, especially in local markets, small establishments, toll booths, vending machines, and public transport.

The website explains that the Socialist Party (PS) questioned the Government about the possible implementation of measures to facilitate the circulation of cash or awareness campaigns to encourage the use of these coins. The Executive rejected the possibility of implementing price rounding, maintaining the current system for now.

Jornal de Notícias indicates that several countries in the Eurozone have adopted automatic rounding of the final value paid by the consumer, as is the case in the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Slovakia, Estonia and Lithuania. In these markets, prices necessarily end in zero or five cents, which reduces the circulation of 1 and 2 cent coins and simplifies change.

In Portugal, the issuance of currency remains dependent on the Ministry of Finance through the Directorate-General of the Treasury and Finance, being produced by the National Mint and put into circulation by the Bank of Portugal. For now, there is no forecast of a change in the system, despite the reduction in national production and exchanges with European partners who have already abandoned the use of these denominations.