With a high level of freedom in business, trade and investment, Italy is a first class exporter of goods. In spite of problems such as slow growth, in comparison to many nations in recent years, it has managed to maintain its lead in many sectors.
Italy had the world’s 6th highest exports (US$ 546,900,000,000 in 2008) with their closest trade ties being with the other countries of the European Union, with whom it conducts about 60% of its total trade. Italy’s largest EU trade partners, are Germany (13%), France (11%), and Spain (7%).
There are no significant deposits of coal, iron or oil. Most raw materials needed for manufacturing and more than 80% of the country’s energy sources are imported. Even though Italy doesn’t have the natural resources or cheap labor force to make it a natural manufacturing center, the goods that it exports perform well and are well-known globally for their quality.
The backbone of the manufacturing sector is a few internationally known multinationals, operating in company with large numbers of small and medium enterprises. Most manufacturing firms are located in the north of the country, with very few large factories in southern Italy. The south contributes to the Italian economy in terms of agriculture instead.
Italy is best known for fashion, cars and engineering. At the same time, it’s name is also commonly associated with industries such as chemicals, wine, ceramics and machinery.
Fashion is the first thing that comes to mind for most people when they think of Italian products. The fashion industry there first shone during the Renascence and, since that time, a succession of designers have helped bring Italian fashion to forefront of world fashion.
With its brands advertised and sold around the world, Italian clothing is familiar to pretty much everyone. While Italian fashion has the image of catering to the luxury market, its real success comes from the production of casual and designer wear at affordable prices and to high quality standards.
As well as clothing, Italian fashion is also very popular in fields such as handbags, shoes, jewelry and eyewear. Often hand-made and customized, the quality is second to none. A very highly developed retail distribution network for these products also aids in their popularity.
Italy’s automotive industry is one of its success stories. Fiat came to symbolize Italy’s growing economy when Italy was rising rapidly, but Italian automobiles now call to mind various names like Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati.
Names like these are a testimony to the diversity in the range and variety of automobiles produced in Italy. Whilst their lower priced cars have struggled to compete with those being manufactured in elsewhere, sales of their higher priced ones are expected to rise in the future.
Engineering is also an important component of Italian industry. Italy leads in various fields involving the manufacture of complex machines and their parts. Apart from automobiles, some major exports in the field are specialized machine tools, machinery and electrical goods. With attention to detail and quality, these products have remained competitive internationally.
‘Italian Manufacturing‘ offers a wealth of information about Italian products and industry.
