L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 18 L'Italo-Americano W e d o n ' t n e e d t o e x p l a i n what the i d e a o f Made in Italy is. It stands for a series of key character- istics, quality above them a l l , b u t a l s o k n o w - h o w , attention to detail, and reli- ability. And while food and fashion are probably what first comes to mind when thinking of it, more indus- tries are contributing to its popularity across the globe. Made in Italy: how much do we really export? According to 2019 data, I t a l y i s t h e 8 t h l a r g e s t exporter in the world, and the 5th when it comes t o c o m m e r c i a l s u r p l u s b e h i n d C h i n a , G e r m a n y , Japan, and South Korea. A n d w h i l e t h e p a n d e m i c may have slowed down the e c o n o m i c p o w e r o f o u r country, Made in Italy and its export remains key for Italy's economic health and w e a l t h . A c c o r d i n g t o the Osservatorio del Minis- t e r o d e l l o S v i l u p p o E c o - nomico (the Observatory for the Ministry of Economic D e v e l o p m e n t ) , o u r m a i n business partners are three: Germany (12.4%), France (10.5%), and the US (9.6%), where made in Italy prod- ucts are particularly appre- ciated. But what do they buy from us, exactly? A big surprise on top – a n d i n s e c o n d a n d t h i r d place C o n t r a r i l y t o w h a t w e may believe, it isn't food that tops the list of Italy's l a r g e s t e x p o r t s , n o r i s i t f a s h i o n a n d a c c e s s o r i e s : i t ' s p h a r m a c e u t i c a l products. Italy is the first producer of pharmaceutical products in Europe and we e x p o r t t h e e q u i v a l e n t o f almost 3% of all the medica- tions sold in the world. The Italian pharmaceutical sec- tor employs 66,500 people across the peninsula, with the main production hubs in T u s c a n y , L o m b a r d y , a n d Latium. Lombardy is among the most important areas of production for both biotech- nologies and pharmaceutics however, it is Latium that exports the most meds. The second largest Italian e x p o r t i s t e c h n i c a l machinery, such as ovens and heating systems, indus- trial fridges, lifting and mov- i n g e q u i p m e n t , a s w e l l a s portable motorized utensils. In third place it's machinery again, but more specialized: in this category, we find, for instance, large instruments for the production of food and beverages and for the textile sector. So, food must be in fourth place, right? Actually, no. We still have a long way to go before encountering pasta and chocolate on our list. Le "Tre F" of the Made in Italy T h e " t h r e e F s , " f o o d , fashion, and furniture, are the most famous of all our exports but, while they do represent a considerable slice of it, they don't even make the top five in our list. As a matter of fact – collec- tive gasp! – food doesn't even make it into the top ten, and n e i t h e r d o e s f u r n i t u r e . C l o t h e s a n d a c c e s s o r i e s (excluding leather goods) are i n 6 t h p o s i t i o n , o n e s t e p behind cars and other motor- ized vehicles: think of Ferrari, of course, but also of Vespa, Fiat, and Ducati, as well as bicycles with Bianchi. But the fact the Tre F are not what we export the most s h o u l d n ' t m a k e u s d o u b t t h e i r i m p o r t a n c e b e c a u s e they remain key for our econ- omy, as well as a true symbol of Made in Italy. Combined t o g e t h e r t h e y c o u n t f o r almost one-quarter of Italy's export, corresponding to 104 billion euro (2019 data). And, according to recent research, food, fashion, and furniture have a very wide margin of growth in key markets such as the US and Japan, which m e a n s t h e y a r e b o u n d t o become even more incisive and relevant in our economy, especially during these diffi- cult, post-pandemic years. Let's talk about food! O n c e a g a i n , G e r m a n y , France, and the US are our favorite partners here: they all like our food a lot! The US jumps on top when it comes t o I t a l i a n w i n e , m i n e r a l water, and olive oil. Interest- ingly enough, China is our first partner for the export of chocolate, coffee, and spices, w h i c h a r e a l s o t h e m o s t remunerative of our exports, w h i l e C a n a d a l o v e s o u r cheeses. I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o n o t e that the areas of Italy that export more food abroad may not be those you imagine: it's not Apulia with its olive oil and mozzarellas, nor Tus- cany, but Piedmont (more specifically, the province of C u n e o ) , a n d V e n e t o (province of Verona), whose exports are worth a stagger- ing 3 billion euro each. The bronze medal goes to Milan ( 1 , 6 b i l l i o n e u r o ) , t h e n Parma, Bolzano, Salerno, and Modena. Cuneo is also the province that registered the largest increase in deals: it looks like the future is golden in the North West. Buy Italian! If it's true that most of us are not familiar with Italy's top exports, it's likely that there is something Italian in the aspirin you've just bought or that the oven where your bread was baked comes from the Belpaese, which is nice to think. But, as consumers, we d e f i n i t e l y r e m a i n m o r e attached to the three Fs, also because these are the "Italian things" we usually buy: nice clothes and quality acces - sories, good food, and beauti- ful durable furniture. Let's keep the trend going! Furniture is one of Italy's "3 Fs" along with food and fashion (Photo: Adriano Pecchio/Dreamstime) LUCA SIGNORINI From chocolate to medicines: here's what Italy exports the most IMPRESA ITALIA MADE IN ITALY TOP BRANDS BUSINESS & ECONOMY

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