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Italy:Italian textile and clothing sales
reaches €43.2bn in 2004 |
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2005-1-11
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Italy''''s textile and clothing sector broke its two-year losing streak in 2004, but will be confronted with a weak global economy and the effects of the strong euro this year.
According to figures released by Italian textiles association Sistema Moda Italia (SMI), textiles and clothing made in Italy reached sales of approximately €43.2 billion in 2004, a slight 0.2 percent increase over 2003, and the first increase in three years.
Exports to the 15 European Union countries fell 0.4 percent to €12.2 billion compared with 2001. In the two-year period between 2001 and 2003, Italy’s textile and clothing sector lost sales of €4.6 billion.
Clothing exports to the EU rose 0.8 percent in 2004, with exports to the important German market down 3 percent, and falling in all other markets besides Spain, which showed a slight increase. Exports to non-EU countries rose 3 percent.
On the other hands, imports increased by 5 percent with a 4.6 percent drop in textile imports and a rise of 7 percent for imported clothing.
Sistema Moda warned that the removal of textile quotas at the beginning of January would lead to a strong rise in imports from China, impacting other non-EU countries.
In 2003, imports from non-EU countries of the 30 product categories now affected by the end of quotas, which include trousers, shirts, jackets, underwear, knitwear and hosiery, totaled roughly €5 billion with China accounting for 10 percent of total imports.
In the same year, imports from China of products with no import restrictions were almost three times as high, or 27.3 percent of total imports.
Due to high unemployment rates combined with restrained spending, the strong euro and overall weak market conditions, consumption of textiles and clothing made in Italy is not expected to exceed growth of 0.3 percent this year, Sistema Moda stated.
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