The textile industry in 2014
started growing again in recession-battered Italy, posting 3.8%
production gains with revenues exceeding eight billion euros,
the Sistema Moda Italia research center said on Wednesday.
The data presented during the inauguration of the 20th
annual Milano Unica textile trade fair showed the sector was
going strong also thanks to the recovery of domestic demand, up
4.4%, which ''interrupted a multiannual cycle of significant
drops or stagnation'', said the research center.
Exports also recorded a 3% growth to 4.4 billion euros in
2014 and are expected to increase 3-4% in the first semester of
this year, said the President of Milano Unica, Silvio Albini.
Textile sales to Europe and the US, up 10%, compensated for
a significant drop in acquisitions from China, down 9.6% and
Hong Kong, down 11.9%, although together they remained the
second-largest market for Italy's exports.
Junior Economy Minister Carlo Calenda, speaking at the
inauguration of the trade fair, said that 2015 will represent a
turning point for exports and the internationalization of
Italian companies
''We are aiming for the United States, where we have huge
potential for growth and we will concentrate our resources
there'', he said.
The government this year has pledged 261 million euros for
the 'internationalization' of Italian firms including ''40
million for the fashion system'', Calenda added, which is
''eight times more than the average of the past five years''.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
