Textile machine exports to Pakistan reached 52 million Euro from January to June 2021, From July-October (2021-22) Pakistan’s exports to Italy reached $327.871 million
The Italian textile machinery industry has always been one of the leading global textile machinery market players. The Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers (ACIMIT) promotes exports of Italian textile machinery worldwide. ACIMIT gives any information on the activity of the producers and organizes a wide range of promotional activities (such as exhibitions, technical seminars, missions in Italy and abroad) most of the time in collaboration with ICE (Italian Trade Commission).
In Italy, there are approximately 300 companies that produce textile machines and related accessories, with about 12,900 employees. In 2020 the value of Italian production was Euro 1.8 billion, with exports worth Euro 1.5 billion. The exports of textile machines represent 83% of total sales/exports of the country, realized in about 130 destination Countries. This internationalization process, together with the vocation for innovation in the sector, allowed Italian companies to consolidate and further improve the leading position held by the Italian textile machinery industry all over the world.
In the first half of 2021, the leading destination of Italian exports of textile machines was Asia (42%), followed by Europe extra EU (18%) and European Union (20%). An immense contribution to the Italian textile machinery exports came from China. In Jan-June 2021, Italian sales toward the Chinese market amounted to a value of Euro 150 million. China was followed by Turkey, the United States of America, and Pakistan. The supply of Italian manufacturers covers all the classic sectors into which we can divide textile machines. Italian sales abroad are divided among these main sectors: 30% dyeing, finishing, and printing machines, 24% accessories, 20% spinning machines, 11% knitting machines, 8% weaving machines, and 7% other machines
Italian companies involved in the textile sector are small companies deeply committed to R&D activities, looking for close cooperation with end-users to create new opportunities, machines, systems, and technologies.
The ability to understand the needs of potential customers enables Italian companies to turn them quickly into dedicated machines and devices, which give rise to new high value-added market niches (such as the technical textiles) in the world textile market, both as regards economic and technological aspects. Italian textile machinery companies are placed in areas of ancient textile tradition. Exchange of experience with end-users offers a solid impetus to the constant technological upgrading of machinery. Textile clusters are located in Northern and Central Italy: Bergamo, Brescia, Biella, Como, Milan, Prato, Vicenza.
Pakistan is among the most relevant market for textile machinery. In 2020 the value of Italian exports to the Pakistani market was 69 million Euros, while in the first six months of 2021, the value reached 52 million Euros. The most requested Italian machines were the finishing ones (36% of the total export towards Pakistan), followed by spinning machines (34%) and knitting machines (13%).
Pakistan and Italy have been trading partners for several decades. Pakistan not only imports from Italy, but the country also exports various items. In 2019, Pakistan exported $838M to Italy. The main products exported from Pakistan to Italy were House Linens ($139M), Light Pure Woven Cotton ($78.4M), and Non-Knit men’s suits ($68.1M). During the last 24 years, the exports of Pakistan to Italy have increased at an annualized rate of 4.98%, from $261M in 1995 to $838M in 2019.
According to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade, Pakistan’s exports to Italy were $718.63M during 2020. In 2020, Pakistan’s exports to Italy included textile articles worth $160.77M, cotton worth $139.50M, man-made staple fibers worth $23.44M, and knitted articles worth $59.80M. The overall exports to Italy were recorded at $327.871 million during July-October (2021-22) against exports of $230.179 million during July- October (2020-21), showing a growth of 42.44%, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). Meanwhile, on a year-on-year basis, the exports to Italy increased by 20.51% by going up from $62.312 million during October 2020 against the exports of $75.095 million in October 2021. On a month-on-month basis, the export to Italy, however, witnessed a decline of 18.85% in October 2021 compared to the exports of $92.549 million in September 2021. Overall, Pakistan’s exports to other countries witnessed an increase of 32.21% during the period under review, from $7.322 billion to $9.681 billion,
Italy, the first country in Europe to be severely hit by the pandemic, suffered a record GDP fall of 9.6% in 2020, the biggest since World War II. Consequently, Italian imports from non-EU countries declined 14%. However, Pakistan stood with Italy and continued its bilateral trade. Despite these challenging conditions, Pakistan has not only recovered from the pandemic-led export challenges but has registered an impressive growth of 9.1% in FY 2020-21. Following Brexit, Italy is now home to the largest Pakistani diaspora in the EU. In FY 2020-21, workers’ remittances from Italy reached $601 million, which marks a 66% increase over the last year, and is an all-time figure, making Italy Pakistan’s most significant source of remittances in the EU and the 7th largest in the world.
