Exports of the Piedmont production districts restart in the first quarter of 2021. This was revealed by the usual Intesa Sanpaolo Monitor, according to which, however, the recovery is overall a bit tiring: only +1,6% to 2,4 billion euro, against the +6% of the districts at national level and +6,5% of the entire regional manufacturing sector. It is always the fashion sector that weighs heavily, which is unable to recover while the agri-food sector does it more than well: the picture is therefore in chiaroscuro, even if it must be said that 8 out of 12 districts are growing, and 6 of these have already recovered if not exceeded the turnover levels of the same period of 2019, when there was not even a shadow of Covid.
To save the budget is the excellent recovery of exports to emerging markets (+11,2%), supported by positive performances in China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Russia. A slower recovery, on the other hand, is characterizing the exports of the Piedmontese districts to mature markets, even if they are still down by 2,5% compared to the first quarter of 2020: the most important drops concerned the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland and Spain; increases in exports to other important countries (such as Ireland, Germany and the United States) failed to compensate.
As mentioned, the most resilient sector is Food: exports increased by 4,6% compared to the first quarter of 2020 and by 10,7% compared to the levels of the first quarter of 2019. Three out of five districts obtained particularly brilliant results: Piedmont hazelnuts and fruit (+25,8%), Sweets from Alba and Cuneo (+8,2%) and Coffee, confectionery and chocolate from Turin (+6,9%). The trend for the wines of the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato was only slightly negative (-1,1%). The only flop is that of Vercelli rice exports (-10,3%). The performance of the only Piedmontese district of the home system was also positive: the Casalinghi di Omegna, whose exports increased by 42,4%.
Also mechanics has grown a lot on foreign markets compared to the same period of the previous year: +9,2%, however the export levels of the first quarter of 2019 are still a long way off (-13,1%). Exports of Machine tools and industrial robots of Turin (+19,5%), of Textile machinery of Biella (+7,5%) and of Taps and valves of CusioValsesia (+6,9%) increased. The only real fiasco is Fashion: the Jewelery of Valenza resists (+3,6%, but had literally collapsed a year earlier), while the Textile of Biella loses almost a fifth of its turnover, which is already affected - that of 2020 – partially from the Covid.
