National footwear production fell 12.1% in volume last year to 198 million pairs, while production value fell 11.6% to EUR 6.5 billion.

Bearing in mind the sector exports 80% of the footwear it produces, the export figures were also fairly negative. Compared with a rise of 0.5% in 2008, when times were already tough, 2009 exports fell 13.3% in volume and 15.9% in value in 2009. In percentage terms, this is the biggest fall since 1980. Figures show 192.3 million pairs were exported with a value of EUR 5.8 billion.

However, the situation may be starting to improve. “Whilst it is not yet possible to talk about a proper recovery, there are already some positive signals,” the National Association of Italian Footwear Manufacturers (ANCI) said when delivering the figures. “Preliminary figures for March 2010, regarding the entire leather sector (shoes and parts, tanned leather and leathergoods), indicate a 22.9% increase in the value of export, compared to the corresponding month in 2009.

ANCI chairman, Vito Artioli, believes part of the reason for the downturn has been “biased competition conditions”. “It is time to enhance the features that set our products and companies apart from the rest," he said.