Even though nightwear production was down, it was the daywear line that took lead in the year 2003, resulting higher production of women''s intimate apparel, according to a report. Notably, there are approximately 700 large and small companies having 8700 strong work force in this sector.

According to a report by Competitors of Databank, the lingerie production for last year was up by 1.7 percent with positive forecasts for 2004. Imports however, rose by 5.7 percent last year over the previous year to €626 million. The figure is excluding direct imports by producers landing in Italy, mainly from developing or recently industrialized countries.

The report informs that the country’s exports were up at €534 million, an increase of 3.1 percent over previous year. Germany and France topped as major export destinations while UK and the United States of America came in third and fourth respectively.