The presentation of the 27th edition of the ICE Report which analyzes the structure and dynamics of foreign trade and the internationalization process was held today at the headquarters of ICE - Agency for the promotion abroad and internationalization of Italian companies of Italy in relation to those of other countries and which represents a fundamental information and analysis tool on Italy's competitive positioning in the world. Alongside the ICE Report, the Istat Statistical Yearbook – ICE 2013 Edition was presented, the result of collaboration between Istat and the ICE Agency. The volume will enable in-depth access to data on foreign trade in goods and services, as well as data on foreign direct investment.
An analysis of the data shows that in a phase of slowdown in the pace of expansion of trade and the recession underway in Italy, companies exporting Italian goods in 2012 achieved an increase in cross-border sales of 3,7 percent .
The growth in exports and the fall in imports from Italy led to an improvement in the trade balance, which went from a negative balance of -25,5 to a positive one of 11 billion euros between 2011 and 2012, despite the still high deficit of the item energy (over 60 billion euros), albeit down on the previous year. It was above all thanks to the improvement in the goods balance that the current account deficit of Italy's balance of payments also decreased (as a percentage of GDP, the deficit fell from –3,1% to –0,5%), such however, this figure should also be read as a symptom of the prolongation of an economic phase of still great difficulty.
The expansion of sales in markets outside the European Union (EU) continued, both for manufactured goods and for services. With reference to the main partners, exports to the United States, Switzerland, Turkey and Russia increased significantly and, among the main European Union countries, only those to the United Kingdom. On the import side, the decrease involved almost all markets, with the exception of gas and oil supplier countries, among which the increase in the value of imports from Libya stands out, returning to the level prior to the regime change.
Among the manufacturing sectors that drove the growth of exports in 2012, refined energy products, pharmaceuticals, food, jewellery, leather goods and metal products stand out. Those of clothing and mechanical products increased around the annual average. Those of textiles, rubber and plastic, electronics and computers, electrical appliances and means of transport have decreased.
As regards the distribution of exports on Italian territory, exports from north-western Italy increased in line with the national average, while in north-eastern Italy there was a slowdown, also due to the consequences of the earthquake in Emilia Romagna. Tuscany's non-monetary gold sales largely contributed to the relatively faster growth of central Italy's foreign sales. With the exception of Sicily and Sardinia, to which the increase was largely contributed by refined petroleum products, and Puglia, exports from the regions of the South decreased.
The number of exporting companies grew further, in contrast with 2010, perhaps also thanks to the driving force of a weaker euro. The increase is mainly due to smaller operators: thousands of small and very small businesses have entered abroad, often for the first time.
The difficulty for Italy in attracting investments remains evident, not only due to the slowdown in world demand. This reinforces the need for clear political action aimed at attracting productive investment from abroad. The increased needs of companies are met by a public system which, in its many articulations, tried in 2012 to strengthen its action to support companies, albeit, in many cases, with decreasing resources. In 2012, the construction site for the reforms of this system remained open and the collaboration within the control room was consolidated. The launch of the new ICE Agency in early 2013 fully reflected these trends.
“The new ICE report confirms that Italian exports, despite the difficulties of the global crisis, continue to expand and represent one of the most dynamic items of our GDP” declared the Minister of Economic Development Flavio Zanonato. “Our task must be to stay by their side, concretely supporting them from a promotional, organisational, financial and insurance point of view. The tools are there, but they need to be strengthened and made to work more and more organically. In the Internationalization Steering Committee, which I chair together with Minister Bonino, we defined the main guidelines on which to focus from now until the end of 2014. We also expect effective solutions on the front of attracting foreign direct investment from the Destination initiative Italy, launched by the last CDM” concluded Zanonato.
“Once again the centrality of exports for the balance of payments is confirmed”, said the President of the ICE Agency Riccardo Monti. “The 3,7% increase despite the slowdown in world trade and the recession tells us that Made in Italy is in excellent health and is expanding, especially in non-EU countries” .
“The growth of Italian exports represented, in 2012, the only support to the activity levels of our economy” declared the President of Istat Antonio Golini. “However, this expansive factor shows signs of weakening in the first part of 2013: the difficulties on the EU markets are not balanced by the continued growth of sales on non-EU markets and the segments of companies with a decline in export turnover have increased. These dynamics indicate, on the one hand, that the Italian export system has been able to intercept the growing demand segments present in the global market, on the other, that the economic situation is still full of risks. And in this regard - concluded the President - I want to underline that the progress made by Istat in the ability to measure, structural and cyclical, the performance of exporting companies provides further cognitive tools to support growth policies, making it possible to promptly highlight and level of detail the changes, strengths and weaknesses of our export system”.
