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[June 2008]
Italian Ceramic Machinery Sector Boosts Exports
Acimac reports that the Italian ceramic machinery industry maintains its strong propensity towards exports, which in 2007 accounted for a total of 71.5% of turnover. Exports rose from €1.243 billion in 2006 to €1.386 billion in 2007, corresponding to double-digit growth of 11.4%. Overall, exports remain one of the main driving factors behind the sector's growth.
Export turnover continues to be divided up fairly uniformly amongst different markets, demonstrating that the industry's commercial presence is evenly spread over the various continents. Europe is the leading market at 40%, followed by Asia at 31.8%, America at 17.2% and Africa at 10.2%.
In greater detail, the enlarged European Union (including all official member countries) is the leading market with a 28.2% share of total exports and a turnover of €391 million (up 24.7%). After a negative 2006, exports to the Middle East have picked up again (up 9%) to reach €238 million, corresponding to a 17.2% share.
Eastern Europe follows in third place with a turnover of €163 million (down by 9.2%), corresponding to 11.8% of total exports. Next comes Central and South America at €143 million, 10.3% of total foreign turnover (a reassuring 23.5% up on the previous year).
Africa accounted for €42 million (10.2% of the export total), up slightly by 2.6%. The African market, the fifth largest export market for Italian ceramic technology, is similar in size to that of Central and South America. China, Hong Kong and Taiwan also reported an increase in turnover in 2007, up from €78.7 million to €104.8 million (33% up on 2006 and corresponding to a share of 7.6%).
This contrasted with a fall in exports to what is termed the ‘Other Asia’ group of countries (India, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia). These important markets saw an 18.3% drop in export business to €97.4 million (7% of exports), probably due to the diffusion of technology from competitor countries.
North America (including Mexico) saw a 32.7% increase in 2007 to reach a turnover of €96.1 million (6.9% of exports). Exports to Oceania rose by 38.3% to €10.1 million (0.7% of the total).
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ENDS