Off the wire
• Czech cabinet postpones decision on sale of L-159 fighters to Iraq  • UN chief sees 70th anniversary of United Nations as "important moment for serious reflections"  • Portugal's unemployment rate rises in Q4 of 2014  • Portugal to invest 40 mln euros in cancer treatment  • 1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks end narrowly mixed after two-day surge  • Portugal registers biggest fall in retail sales in EU in December  • Cezanne's painting sells for 13.5 mln pounds in London  • 1st LD Writethru: U.S. dollar rises after sharp drop  • Chicago agricultural commodities fall  • (Special for CAFS) Ghanaian industries threaten lay-offs due to energy crisis  
You are here: 　 Home

Fabrics remain driving force of Italian economy

Xinhua, February 5, 2015 Adjust font size:

Italian fabrics have shown to be a driving force promoting general recovery, according to 2014 data on the sector presented here at the opening of the 20th edition of Milano Unica, the Italian Textiles Trade Show, on Wednesday.

Last year's overall sales were above the 8-billion-euro threshold, showing a 3.8 percent increase, the research center of Sistema Moda Italia (SMI), the trade organization for Italian manufacturers of yarns, woven and knitted fabrics, clothing and fashion accessories, said.

The result was made possible thanks also to the growing trend of 4.4 percent increase in domestic demand, which interrupted a multi-year cycle characterized by either significant reductions or stagnation, SMI said.

This growth trend cut across all segments, except for cotton fabrics, with wool fabrics making for nearly 40 percent of total sales. Manufacturing, net of imported products, posted a 2.9-percent growth.

Exports amounted to 4.4 billion euros, up 3.3 percent, led by knits, followed by wool fabrics (first globally in terms of exports), especially worsteds.

SMI said the good results of the United States and Europe broadly compensated for the significant reductions registered in Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, which together represent the second market of reference for Italian exports.

Imports exceeded 2 billion euros, posting a 6.5 percent increase. In addition to China and Turkey, which accounted for nearly 50 percent of the total value of fabric imports, an additional rise was also registered in imports from Pakistan.

The trade surplus of Italian fabrics, nearly 2.4 billion euros, made for as much as 25 percent of total trade surplus of the textiles/apparel industry, although the overall sales of fabrics stands at 15.3 percent of textiles/apparel industry sales.

Silvio Albini, President of Milano Unica, cited the sub-movements of the exchange rates as an opportunity for the textile industry, which he said was the first to be impacted by globalization but "knows now how to weigh risks and seize all possible occasions."

"In the last years we exported over 55 percent of our sales on average, with an artificially strong euro and an excessively high exchange rate that was not in line with European economic conditions," he said.

"Today much has changed with the renewed balance, not only in the U.S. market, which is currently one of the most dynamic worldwide, but also in all the other U.S. dollar-indexed areas. Exports will be favored and imports will become less competitive," Albini added.

Milano Unica, which runs on Feb. 4-6 in the Italian fashion capital, showcases the spring/summer 2016 textile collections and accessories of 353 exhibitors, including 64 from other European countries. Milano Unica on March 18-20 will also take place in China's Shanghai. (1 euro = 1.14 U.S. dollars) Enditem