Italy’s footwear exports continue their recovery
15/02/2018
Based on data from ISTAT, Italy’s official statistics agency, the report said footwear exports grew 9.3% in volume and 12.1% in value during October.
This means that between January and October, Italy sold 180.6 million pairs of shoes overseas for a total value of €7.78 billion. This represents increases of 1.5% in volume and 3.3% in value.
Projections suggest the final result for 2017 will be just under €9.2 billion in value, which would be the highest value in the last 15 years, even when the effect of inflation is factored in.
During the first 10 months of 2017, Italy’s footwear exports to the European Union, its most important market, increased 2.2% in value despite a slight dip in volume. France saw respective increases of 1.1% in volume and 1.7% in value, but the volume of exports to Germany fell 2.3%. The value of these exports was 2.5% higher, however.
Outside of the EU, exports to the CIS area continued to strengthen, increasing 17% in value and 28.4% in volume. This was led by respective increases of 20% and 28.4% for exports to Russia.
The Italian footwear industry continues to struggle in North America, with shoe exports to the US increasing 5.5% in volume but dropping 4.8% in value. There were declines in both the volume and the value of exports to Canada.
The report brought mixed news from the Far East. Increases in volume to South Korea and China failed to offset negative trends in Japan and Hong Kong, leading to overall declines of 4.4% in volume and 2.4% in value of exports to the region.
Confindustria Moda’s data also revealed that Italy’s domestic production of footwear is showing signs of stability following declines in the past three years. This is not being matched by domestic demand, however. During the first 11 months of 2017, domestic consumption fell 0.4% in volume and 0.1% in value, according to the report.
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