Italian textile industry has still to recover from the economic slowdown reveals latest data. The first part of 2013 shows a negative trend for the industry, with signs of a slight recovery during the second quarter of 2013. According to ISTAT data on industrial production (adjusted for the work calendar), during the first and second quarter of 2013, the Italian textile industry (excluding knitted fabrics) suffered a setback when compared to the same period in 2012, registering negative figures for the 7th consecutive quarter. The first quarter of 2013 was characterized by a -3.3 per cent production decrease, while the second quarter showed weak improvement, despite the negative zone (-0.4 per cent). It has been observed that in the first half of 2013, the Italian textile industry registered a slight production slowdown (-1.8 per cent).
The entire textile industry follows a similar trend as the weaving sector, holding steady during the 2nd quarter and then beginning to stabilize, as in 2012. During the first half of the current year, the textile industry experienced a slight decrease in production (-2.1 per cent).
During the first five months of 2013, Italian fabric export remained in the negative. From January to May 2013, foreign sales of Italian fabrics registered a slight decrease amounting to -3.4 per cent in value and -4.0 per cent in quantity. A minor decline characterized silk fabric import (-3.7 per cent) during the first five months of 2013. Considering these results, the total turnover for the January-May 2013 period, was only slightly below that of the previous year (934 million euros to 846 million euros, a reduction of 88 million euros).
Among the top 10 market outlets, only Turkey and Hong Kong were in the positive zone, increasing by +12.8 per cent and +1.0 per cent, respectively. Even though Germany remains the primary market outlet for Italian fabrics, there was a slight decline in export (-4.1 per cent) as there was to France (-2.6 per cent).
During the first five months of 2013, China is once again the leading supplier, covering 25.9 per cent of total fabric import, still in the positive zone (+0.4%). Turkey makes up +23 per cent (compared to -19.4 per cent registered last year). Fabric import from the Czech Republic and Pakistan has increased +5.3 per cent and +10.7 per cent respectively, while imports from Spain (-2.1 per cent) and India (-16.2 per cent) are in decline.
