2018 was a year of growth for Piedmont district exports, the value of which increased by 473 million euros for a total amount of 9,2 billion euros, new historic record for regional exports. In percentage terms, the growth was 5,4%, a figure higher than the +2,2% of the total Italian districts and the substantial stability of the Piedmontese manufacturing sector. This is the key figure that emerges from the 2018 Piedmont District Monitor, developed by Intesa Sanpaolo's Studies and Research Department, and presented today by Cristina Balbo, Intesa Sanpaolo Piedmont Valle d'Aosta and Liguria Regional Director and economists Giovanni Foresti and Romina Galleri of the Studies and Research Department of Intesa Sanpaolo.
The analysis by single district shows how the year closed with a exports growing for 8 out of 11 districts. In particular, 4 Piedmontese districts ranked among the top 25 Italian districts for growth in export value: Wines from the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato, in third place in Italy, Piedmontese hazelnuts and fruit, Textiles from Biella and Sweets from Alba and Cuneo respectively in nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-second position. Furthermore, 6 Piedmontese districts out of 11 have reached their export peak. They are the Jewelery of Valenza, the Wines of the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato, the Textiles of Biella, the Sweets of Alba and Cuneo, the Coffee, confectionery and chocolate of Turin and the Rice of Vercelli.
District exports increased both to mature markets (+6,1%) and to new markets (+3,5%). Switzerland, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States are the fastest growing commercial outlets. 2018 was a particularly brilliant year for the wines of the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato, whose exports reached 1,566 billion euros, with a leap of 16%. The comparison with the other Italian wine districts shows how the Piedmontese have driven growth, recording an increase in exports compared to the previous year of 216 million euros out of 261 overall increase. Double-digit growth in exports also for Piedmontese hazelnuts and fruit: +24,9% corresponding to an increase in value of 69 million euros.
The district managed to recover the decline that had characterized 2017 and to relocate its exports close to the maximum levels. All the Piedmontese agro-food districts are characterized by the plus sign: +5,5% for the Sweets of Alba and Cuneo, equal to an increase of 66 million euro; +1,4% for coffee, confectionery and chocolate from Turin, equal to 7 million euros; +3,4% for Vercelli rice, equal to 6 million euro. As for the fashion system, note the 5% increase in Biella Textiles, which in 2018 reached its all-time high of 1,44 billion euros, thanks to an increase in exports of 68,5 million euros. The clothing and woolen fabrics sectors are particularly virtuous. Also in this case the comparison with the other Italian textile districts is successful: Biella has achieved the best results both in terms of growth in value and variation.
Also the goldsmith's shop of Valencia, despite the ups and downs of the four quarters, closed 2018 on a positive note with export growth of 2,2%, corresponding to a value of 44 million euros, setting a new all-time high of 2,1 billion euros. In 2018, the district, the only one growing nationwide, maintained the primacy of the largest exporter among the Italian gold districts. On the other hand, exports from the only Piedmontese district of the home system, the Casalinghi di Omegna, were down: -7,6%, corresponding to a drop in exports of 4 million euros.
Lastly, lights and shadows for the Piedmontese district mechanics: only the exports of taps and fittings from Cusio-Valsesia increased by 2%, corresponding to an amount of 28 million euro. The industrial refrigerators of Casale Monferrato and the textile machinery of Biella, on the other hand, showed a decrease in exports, respectively of 2,4% equal to a decrease of 7 million euros and of 18,7% equal to a decrease of 21 million EUR.
