Positive trend for Veneto, Tuscany, Lombardy and Emilia Romagna; negative trend for Marche and Campania.

 After the fall in recent years, there was a recovery for exports to Russia and the CIS area.

SHOE MANUFACTURERS IN ITALY: A POSITIVE YEAR FOR EXPORTS

Exports from the Italian footwear sector increased again: 2017 closed up+3.4% on 2016 (after the 2.6% increase that was reported in the previous year). According to the latest data from the Confindustria Fashion Study Centre for Assocalzaturifici, Italian exports were worth more than 9.5 billion euros, with this figure including finished shoes as well as components (2016 exports were approximately 9.2 billion)

The performance was particularly positive in the last quarter, which saw a 6.6% increase in value for exports in the footwear sector, after two lacklustre quarters (+1.8% in the second quarter and +1% in the third). The increase for Veneto, Tuscany and Puglia was more than 7%.

REGIONAL EXPORTS MAIN PRODUCERS: GROWTH ALMOST ACROSS THE BOARD

In terms of the total value exported in 2017, Veneto confirmed its status as the main exporting region, making up 27.4% of total Italian exports, followed by Tuscany (21.4%), Lombardy (15.3%) and Marche (15.1%, which slipped down a place compared to 2016). These four regions combined account for almost 80% of Italy’s foreign turnover.

Compared to the previous year, the reasonable results for the final quarter did not prevent the Marche from once again closing the year in negative territory (-1.5%; the figure was -3.2% after the first 9 months of the year): 2017 was particularly disappointing for Macerata (-8.9%), while Fermo (+1.1%) and Ascoli (+0.6%) were “steady”. Campania (-4.1%) also fared poorly: with only a small reduction for Naples (-0.6%), but a much larger fall for Caserta (-16%).

There was an increase in the foreign turnover of the other main Italian footwear manufacturing regions: the annual increase was just over 4% for Veneto (driven by Treviso and Venice), Tuscany, Emilia Romagna and Lombardy. The increase was slightly lower for Puglia (+2.7%).