Exports in Emilia Romagna are growing: they reached 22.1 billion euros in 2023, with a growth of 5.2% compared to the previous year (21 billion euros). Important results not only when compared with the national value of Italian district companies, but also if we take into account the challenges that the region had to face with the dramatic consequences of the flood of May 2023. This is what emerges from the periodic analysis of the Management Studies and Research by Intesa Sanpaolo.
“Even in 2023 – comments Alessandra Florio, Regional Director of Emilia-Romagna and Marche Intesa Sanpaolo – the regional districts managed to maintain a positive export dynamic, demonstrating once again the extraordinary propensity to export and the strength and resilience of the production fabric local. Regional production diversification and the strong presence of industrial districts and local supply chains represent a fundamental pillar for the competitiveness of the regional economy on a global scale. For this reason, the new program “Your future is our business” will be important for the region, with which Intesa Sanpaolo makes 10 billion euros available until 2026 to support the planning of SMEs and smaller companies in Emilia-Romagna on priority areas including, in fact, development abroad and on new markets”.
The analysis of the Emilia Romagna districts reveals a varied picture. Among the mechanical engineering districts, the agricultural machinery district of Reggio Emilia and Modena stands out, with an extraordinary growth of 79.3% (+523 million euros). At the same time, the Packaging machinery of Bologna and the Food machinery of Parma recorded notable increases of 23.9% and 21.9% respectively. Even the Mechatronics of Reggio Emilia, with almost 5 billion euros the first regional district for exports at current prices in 2023, showed growth, albeit more limited, with an increase of 3.6% (+170 million) compared to last year. The Rimini woodworking machinery district shows good growth (+6.2%). The change in the export of machine tools from Piacenza was also positive (+2.8%). However, not all districts of the supply chain have achieved the same brilliant results. The moped district of Bologna ended the year in negative, recording a decrease in sales of 2.7%. The agri-food sector, with total exports of over 4.4 billion euros at current prices, also showed strong growth in 2023, led by Alimentare di Parma, which increased its sales by 15.7% (+227 million). The dynamics of the export flows of Parma cured meats and Parma dairy products are also noteworthy, with respective growth of 12.7% and 11.5%. Among the other districts of the sector, cured meats from the Modena area also recorded increases (+5.9%) and fruit and vegetables from Romagna which, after a physiological drop in sales in the third quarter due to the floods in May, closed the year positively (+1.7%) thanks to the recovery in the fourth quarter of the year (+4.5%). On the contrary, two of the seven regional agri-food districts recorded a decline in exports; the Reggio Emilia dairy and cured meats districts saw sales abroad reduce by 2.7% and 11% respectively. The Tile district of Sassuolo recorded a decline of 14.6%, a reduction mainly due to the decline in demand in the sector, a phenomenon affected by the progressive slowdown of the construction cycle.
The upholstered furniture district of Forlì is instead facing the consequences of the weakness in demand for durable consumer goods, the district’s exports suffered a contraction of 8.4% in 2023 compared to the previous year.
In the fashion system, Rimini’s clothing sector recorded a positive balance with an increase of 5.6%. On the other hand, Knitwear and clothing in Carpi and Footwear in San Mauro Pascoli recorded a reduction in sales, with drops of 33.3% and 6.6% respectively compared to 2022. The technological centers of Emilia-Romagna Romagna saw growth of 10.9%, in line with the national trend. The Emilia-Romagna ICT Hub and the Mirandola Biomedical Center recorded an increase of 8.4% and 23.6% respectively, while the Bologna Biomedical Center showed a slight decline of 0.6%. The positive dynamics of the regional districts is supported by the push of traditional markets, such as France (+9.1%), United States (+4.9%), Germany (+1.9%), Spain (+3.7% ), United Kingdom (+4.7%) and Poland (+14.4%). Among the new markets, the further opening towards Turkey stands out, which stood out with an increase of 63.3%, and India (+54.5%), while China recorded a contraction of 20.7 %.
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