Made in Italy on the seesaw of international markets

The curve representing Italian exports in 2017 starts with a slight +1.9% during the first quarter, to then shoot up to +2.9% in the second quarter, and finally fall back to a very unexciting +0.2% in the third. This negative trend is interrupted in October, however, with a significant and encouraging improvement equal to +9.3%.

Thanks to these dynamics, Italian exports during the first ten months of 2017 rose by 3.3%, amounting to 7,778.60 million euros, and by +1.5% in quantity for a total of 180.6 million pairs. This is what is highlighted in the sector’s economic report presented by Assocalzaturifici’s Research Centre.

The trend in the individual markets of destination, however, is full of highs and lows. While, on the whole, the EU-28 is relatively stable (+2.2% in value and -0.1% in quantity in the period of reference), there are significant differences between countries: France is slightly positive in value and quantity, while Germany, the United Kingdom, and Belgium present positive values and negative quantities. Holland, the footwear trade platform of reference, drops by both -8.7% in value and -7.5% in quantity. Spain, instead, follows a pathway of recovery, as does Poland, the outsource destination for Italian footwear, which even experiences double-digit growth (+16.9% and +15.5%). Outside the EU, but always in Europe, Switzerland confirms its role as a European trade platform, registering a rise in value equal to +19.7% and in quantity equal to +8.2%, while also confirming itself to be the second destination for Made in Italy.

Recovery in the CSI area is reinforced (+15.9% and +21.5%), driven by the double-digit recovery in Russia (+20% and +28.4%), while the other two main destinations of the area, the Ukraine and Kazakhstan, present positive values (though to a lesser degree in the Ukraine) and negative quantities.

The performance of Made in Italy in North America is not exactly the best, with the USA dropping in value (-4.8%), but with a positive trend in quantity (+5.5%), confirming that entrepreneurs have lowered their prices in order to remain active in the market. At the same time, Canada confirms an overall downtrend (-5.7% and -1.4%).

Even in Asia, Made in Italy is very unpredictable, with China positive in both its value and quantities, while Hong Kong is altogether negative. Moving eastwards, the Empire of the Sun continues to experience a negative performance (-6.5% and -10.5%), while South Korea follows a fast-paced double-digit upward trend (+14.3% and +11.5%).