Summary of the Economic Note - 43rd edition of Milano Unica
Data processed by Economic and Statistical Research Office of Confindustria Moda
The Economic and Statistical Research Office of Confindustria Moda has revised downward its 2025 estimates for the made-in-italy textile industry (including wool, cotton, linen, silk, and knits), originally released in february 2026. Total sales, initially projected to decline -1.5%, ultimately fell by -3.1%, reaching euro 6.8 billion. Exports also declined by 2.3%, totaling euro 3.7 billion. The data available for the first three months of 2026, although not fully comparable across all indicators, continue to point to a highly uncertain environment for the industry. In the first three months of 2026, the istat industrial production index for textiles declined by -1.3%, while total textile exports fell by -3.4%, amounting to euro 729 million. These figures, however, mask different trends across product categories. During the period under review, exports of silk fabrics, for example, increased by +7.5%, cotton fabrics by +2.2%, and wool fabrics, the industry’s largest segment in terms of value and volume, by +1.2%. however, this positive performance was insufficient to offset the sector’s overall negative trend, mainly due to the sharp decline in knits (-13.2%). A similar picture emerges from the analysis of export destinations. Exports increased to several strategically important markets, including France (+8.5%), China (+7.8%), Poland (+19.6%). However, these gains were outweighed by declines in other key markets, namely the United States (-10.7%), Tunisia (-9.1%), Spain (-5.1%), and Germany (-0.8%). Despite these trends, the sector’s trade surplus remained positive at euro 309 million, although this was approximately euro 48 million lower than in the corresponding period of 2025. The reduction reflects both weaker exports and a +3.6% increase in imports, which reached euro 420 million. On the import side, germany unexpectedly ranked as italy’s third-largest supplier of textiles, with imports rising by +47.2%, behind turkey (-15.6%) and china (-2.3%).
