The IMF expects stable growth of around 1% in Italy over the next few years. A path that would make it possible to recover the values achieved in the period preceding the crisis not before the middle of the next decade. In its annual report, Istat underlined the fragility of the current growth phase, a consequence of a limited diffusion of the recovery at the sectoral level. Behind this uninspiring scenario there are various factors, such as, for example, the greater weight of imports in the economy, which subtract wealth from domestic production.
In the last twenty years, the degree of international openness of Italy has increased: the ratio between the sum of exports and imports and GDP has reached 57%, with the weight of imports close to 30%. The importance of foreign purchases of consumer goods has grown, absorbing more than 10% of household spending. From abroad we buy about a fifth of the food products we consume, mainly meat and fish, with a total cost of 30 billion euros. A quarter of the clothing purchased by Italians and more than 40% of footwear also comes from abroad.
In addition to families, businesses are also showing growing interest in products made abroad. The weight of imports on investments in machinery has approached 40%, with an increase of about 10 percentage points compared to the period before the crisis. However, the greater recourse to imports does not seem to be the result of a choice by households and businesses but rather the consequence of a lack of supply, the result of a long process of deindustrialization which began in the years preceding the crisis. A discourse that affects various manufacturing sectors, such as textiles and clothing, electronics, electrical equipment and rubber, plastics and non-metallic minerals. In the means of transport, foreign cars have come to represent 70% of total registrations.
A final consideration on agriculture. Over the years, the increase in imports has compensated for the decline in domestic production. Purchases from abroad reached 14 billion euros, while the utilized agricultural area was reduced by more than 20% compared to the beginning of the 20s. Today, we buy more than XNUMX% of the national need for agricultural products from abroad.
