As per figures released by the economics department at ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, orders for textile machinery rose during the fourth quarter of 2013. It shows a 5 per cent increase compared to the previous quarter. However, on the domestic side, orders fell by 15 per cent, due to a highly critical situation for the Italian market. Exports rose by 7 per cent over the previous quarter, and remain the main growth driver for Italian manufacturers.
On an annual basis, due to the poor performance in domestic market, the overall index declined by 4 per cent compared to the 2012 average. On the export side, after a declining third quarter, sales picked up in the fourth quarter. Although they include only the first ten months of the year, the foreign trade data provided by ISTAT confirm a slight drop compared to the previous year.
To support and boost Italian textile machinery manufacturers in their global processes, ICE, Italian Trade Agency for the promotion and globalization of Italian businesses abroad, together with ACIMIT, have planned an intense promotional campaign for the industry in 2014. Promotional initiatives for Italy’s textile machinery sector will be held in 16 countries, including China and India, as well as nations and markets which already present potential business opportunities for Italian machinery builders, such as Ethiopia, Mongolia and Uzbekistan.
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