ITPLAST Aprile 2024 | Page 19

ECONOMY AND MARKET
Tab . 1 - Italian market for machinery , equipment and moulds for plastics and rubber ( millions of euros )
2022
2023 ( estimates )
production
4,670
4,820
exports
3,250
3,410
imports
1,120
1,160
domestic market
2,540
2,570
trade balance
2,130
2,250
AMERICAS The export trend to the Americas is more than satisfying (+ 24 %), thanks to a new surge in Usmca markets – Mexico in particular – and to the continuing ebullience of a number of South American markets , with Brazil , Argentina , and Peru leading the pack .
MIDDLE AND FAR EAST The Middle East has also shown a rather positive trend on average , driven principally by two markets : Saudi Arabia (+ 107 %) and Israel (+ 47 %). Exports to the Far East , on the other hand , have witnessed a sudden deceleration ( -12 %), due essentially to the contraction of two principal markets – China ( -15 %) and India ( -6 %) – but also to a loss of momentum in other prominent
destinations : South Korea ( -61 %), Japan ( -47 %), and Taiwan ( -68 %). The contemporaneous surge in sales to Thailand (+ 140 %) and Indonesia (+ 81 %) was not sufficient to counterbalance this slump since these two destinations have limited relative weight in the overall equation .
AFRICA In light of its excellent performance in January- September 2023 , Africa as a whole now boasts nearly a 6 % share of the total . Sales to all countries bordering on the Mediterranean have increased greatly , while worth mentioning are South Africa and Nigeria in sub-Saharan Africa , the largest markets in that region with values that have more than doubled since last year .
ECONOMIC AND GEOPOLITICAL CRITICALITIES Beyond the import-export statistics , the concerns of Italian firms in the sector are focused on the progressive downturn in orders in recent months . However , at year ’ s end 2022 , no one would have wagered on the positive results we are seeing for 2023 : there were fears of a crisis of demand already in the first few months of the new year although it did not actually materialize until the second half of the year . There are a number of economic and geopolitical criticalities characterizing the international context . The post-pandemic rebound – which reaffirmed the capacity of the industry , which suffered less than its counterparts , to response positively to adversity – was followed by other negative impacts : from wars to shortages in
Italian technology plast / April 2024
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