Enterprises, SACE’s Export Report 2024: VENETO third region, 82 billion goods exported in 2023

Source: SACE press office

• This year, the export of Italian goods will grow by 3.7 per cent and in 2025 by 4.5 per cent to reach EUR 679 billion. And growth will come through technological innovation in all sectors.
• Low-carbon technologies (LCT): green Made in Italy will reach 50 billion in foreign sales by 2025. Italy is among the leaders in the export of LCT goods, which is expected to grow by 11.1% in 2024 and 13.7% next year.
• To successfully navigate into the future, Italian companies will have to adopt an increasingly flexible and dynamic approach that anticipates the changes: in short, SPARKLING. An acronym in which each letter represents a characteristic of companies: Smart, Proactive, Agile, Revolutionary, Kinetic, Leader, Innovative, New and Green.
• GATE countries. Among the geographies of destination, excellent prospects come from 14 countries in which SACE is present and towards which last year about €80 billion of Italian goods were directed, a value that will grow by 5.4% this year and 7% in 2025: from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to Singapore, passing through India, Vietnam and China; overseas in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, to return to the Old Continent with Serbia, Turkey and then Morocco, Egypt and South Africa. These are the countries that stand out for growth, ambition, transformation and high potential.

Milan, 25 June 2024 – Artificial intelligence, new technologies, ESG transition, geopolitical risks and climate change. Exports are growing again and experiencing a great moment of transformation between new risks and emerging opportunities.

Against this backdrop, SACE presented the Doing Export Report 2024, which explores the growth potential of Italian exports and the new routes on which companies must focus, counting on SACE’s solutions, connections and knowledge tools. But this year there is something new: nine guidelines have been outlined along which Italian companies must structure their growth strategies in order to shine – to be ‘sparkling’ – and be an enterprise of the future.

“Italian companies are crossing the threshold of a new era, where, in order to be competitive, they must rethink and invest, focusing on agile and sustainable organisational models and looking to the future,” said Alessandra Ricci, CEO of SACE. “And for all this, SACE IS THERE, together with companies with solutions, people and offices, in Italy and around the world. SACE’s Doing Export Report is the practical guide to evolving, monitoring and intercepting opportunities for Italian exports in a complex international context, but one with high potential for Made in Italy”.

“Good news for exports: Italy is growing again. Italy is confirmed as one of the top exporters in the world: 679 billion in 2025 and 4% growth in the next two years. And the opportunities come from the GATE markets where SACE is present and which today are worth 80 billion euro and could be worth 95 billion by 2027: Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Turkey, Serbia, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, India, China, Vietnam and Singapore,” explained Alessandro Terzulli, SACE Chief Economist. “The future is not tomorrow, it is today, and companies can develop their potential by exploiting artificial intelligence and new technologies in the sectors of the future such as instrumental mechanics applied to efficiency, circularity applied to production cycles, and low carbon technologies, which are worth 40 billion today and could be worth 50 billion by 2025.

VENETO REGION

Veneto, which has about 408 thousand active enterprises of which 26 thousand SMEs, is the third Italian region for exports. In 2023 Veneto exported goods worth about 82 billion euros, equal to 13.1% of total national exports, with a stable trend compared to the previous year (-0.3%); exports account for almost half of the region’s GDP (45.5%). In the first quarter of the year (the latest data available), Veneto’s exports recorded a contraction of 5.1% compared to the same period in 2023. With the value of goods exported amounting to Euro 23 billion last year, Vicenza is the leading province in terms of exports (28% of the total), closely followed by the provinces of Treviso (20%), Verona (19%) and Padua (16%).

In terms of sectorial composition, instrumental mechanics – confirmed in 2023 as the leading export sector with over EUR 16 billion in export value – saw a significant increase in sales compared to the previous year (+8%). The good performance of exports of other manufacturing (+1.6%), made up in particular of medical and dental instruments and supplies, furniture and jewellery and precious stones, and food and beverages (+5.5%), partly offset the declines in textiles and clothing (-3.2%) and metal products (-8.6%). Between January and March 2024, foreign demand for other manufacturing (+2.5%) was still positive, driven in particular by medical instruments and supplies and jewellery and precious stones, against the negative trends recorded by instrumental mechanics (-5.3%), textiles and clothing (-9.1%) and metal products (-14.8%).

At the level of territorial specialisations, gold jewellery from Vicenza and prosecco from Treviso showed good dynamics both last year and in the first quarter of 2024, against a drop in demand for glasses from Belluno and instrumental mechanics from Vicenza at the beginning of the year, after the increases recorded in 2023. The negative trend continued, however, for Vicenza tanning.

Germany, France and the United States remained the top three destinations for Veneto exports, receiving almost 35%. Exports to Germany remained more or less stable (+0.5%), with increases in instrumental mechanics and food and beverages partly offsetting the contractions in metal products and textiles and clothing. Demand from France increased (+3.7%), driven in particular by sales of textiles and clothing, instrumental mechanics and other manufacturing. By contrast, exports to the US contracted by 5.8%, caused by declines in other manufacturing, food and beverages, and textiles and clothing. In the first quarter, widespread declines were recorded across all major destination geographies: Germany (-11.3%), France (-3.7%) and the US (-6.6%). Among the less-attended markets, significant increases were recorded for Croatia (+12% in Q1 2023 and +5.1% in Q1 2024), the United Arab Emirates (+3.6% and +12.6%), Mexico (+15.6% and +2%), Saudi Arabia (+17.0% + 16.3%) and Serbia (+9% and +6.5%).

SACE IN VENETO

SACE is committed to working alongside 4800 companies, mainly SMEs, in this region between support for investments in sustainability, innovation and growth and support for export and internationalisation activities. Between 2023 and the first months of 2024, SACE has supported projects of Veneto companies for a total of 3.5 billion euro.

SACE is present in Veneto with offices in Venice and Verona.

Translated by Cecilia Flaccavento
Intern at the Chamber of Commerce of Treviso – Belluno|Dolomites