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| Italian textile machinery exports to main countries in 2005 (unit: million euro; source: ACIMIT) |
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The Italian textile machine market is seeing some signs of recovery in the beginning of this year following the decline for the last four years.
"Italian manufacturers have shown more confidence during this first few months of 2006," said Paolo Banfi, President of ACIMIT (Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers), at the annual press conference recently held at the association's administrative headquarters in Milan.
"In order to increase our competitive edge, Italian firms are boosting their presence on faraway Asian markets and developing technologies that suit various market niches. We have already seen some results."
According to him, machine builders in Italy have reported rebound of sales from China and high demand from India, a continuation from last year. In 2005, India's demand grew outstandingly by over 30%, and China' made an upswing.
Deliveries to the US were upbeat. However, regardless of the buoyancy of these traditional markets, Italian textile machine export value shrank last year as compared with 2004, caused by the slackening of the Turkish market, the prolonged decline in major Germany, France and Spain markets, as well as the diminishing of investment from Pakistan, Iran, Syria and Bangladesh.
Unfavorable factors, unclear future
And forecasts for the coming few years have been difficult because of market uncertainties. In Turkey, for example, structural problems inside of its textile and garment industry may block investment on new machines, although this has not deterred some firms thrusting towards the production of high value-added products.
Other unknown factors include material price fluctuation and the strengthening of the euro. The strong euro has been considered as a penalizing rather than favorable factor for the sector.
Restructuring and acquisitions
Against the competitive market, Mr Banfi said that restructuring will continue among Italian textile machine builders. "On the demand side, many industrialized countries are experiencing a recession in their textile sector; on the supply side, new competitors are emerging and traditional players consolidating," he stated.
Suggesting a quicker process of internationalization, Mr Banfi further said, "To deal with the reducing size of our firms, companies should share common view on fiscal matters in the merger and acquisition processes."
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