The Italian textiles industry has ended 2024 on a downbeat note. According to estimates by the economics department of Confindustria Moda, the fashion industry branch of Italy’s industrialists’ association, the revenue of textiles producers fell by 7.7% to €7.1 billion.
The Italian textiles industry has ended 2024 in negative territory
The result was mainly influenced by the downward trend in exports, which fell by 8.5% on an annual basis, although the volume drop in the first nine months of 2024 was more contained, amounting to only 1.3%. Textiles imports instead posted a lower decrease. They were down 5.8%, affecting the industry’s trade surplus, which remained above the €2 billion threshold, down 10.7%.
Exports to China recorded a positive result, growing 4.8%. Together with Hong Kong (where exports were down 0.5%), the Asian country remained the main outlet for Italian textiles, a market worth over €250 million mainly thanks to brushed and carded wool fabrics, accounting for more than 10% of total exports.
Exports to Vietnam and Sri Lanka were also up, accounting for over 5% of total exports, while those to other European countries all slumped, with exports to France down 16.2%, and to Germany by 22.6%.
The negative exports trend extended to most fabric types, notably wool and knitted fabrics.
In terms of Italy’s fabric imports, those from China, Turkey, and Pakistan were worth over 50% of the total in value and volume. Sourcing from China grew by 1.2% in the first nine months of 2024, while both Turkey and Pakistan recorded double-digit drops.
