After having a look at which Italian regions exported the most wine, this week, I’m going to take a look at another well known product coming from the ‘Made in Italy’ locker – Italian shoes, as about to be worn by President Barack Obama.
Yes, thanks to the interesting ISTAT data sheets I’ve unearthed, and a little messing around to get the data into a presentable form via a spreadsheet, in this post you will find which Italian regions produce the most footwear. There is the caveat though, and it is that the figures shown are provisional estimates for the January to September 2008 period compared to the same period in 2007.
Before clicking on, try to guess which Italian shoe making regions produce the most in export income for Italy? Now, click away, and see if you were right.
Italy’s Shoe Export Star
Were you right? As you will see from the table beneath, the Veneto region of Italy was most probably the shoe export star of Italy. Although the Le Marche and Tuscany regions, while not hot on the Veneto’s heels, were not too far behind, even if shoe exports in these zones fell, whereas the Veneto managed to grow its export income.
Some of the biggest growth was seen in the Emilia Romagna, Piedmont and Molise regions, with export income growth of around 20% – very healthy.
That southern region Molise appears to have performed so well is a great sign for this relatively poor Italian region. However, if someone were to award a gold medal for increase in income from shoe exports, then it would undoubtedly go to Sardinia with its whopping 448% growth in export sales. Wow, that’s quite a polished performance from this small, but industrious, Italian island! This figure makes the increase in export sales in the Emilia Romagna, Piedmont and Molise regions pale somewhat into insignificance.
Stop reading, start speaking
Stop translating in your head and start speaking Italian for real with the only audio course that prompt you to speak.
Still, it has to be said that Sardinia’s total level of shoe sales export income is still minuscule when compared to Italy’s shoe export powerhouses of the Veneto, Le Marche and Tuscany regions.
Italian Shoe Exports by Region
Here are the rest of the figures for you to dip your toes into, and, perhaps, be a little surprised by. Note that the figures for Campania, which has long been in the grip of ‘mafiaeconomics‘, are probably rather conservative, in that real details of shoe production and exports are likely invisible to official statistics.
January to September 2008 period (estimates) compared to the same period in 2007 (all figures in thousands of Euros).
| Italian Region | Total Exports ’07 | Market Share | Total Exports: Jan – Sept ’07 | Total Exports: Jan – Sept ’08 est. | % Variation Jan/Sept 07 & 08 | Ranking |
| Veneto | 2,188,149 | 28.6 | 1,700,136 | 1,850,822 | 8.9 | 1 |
| Marche | 1,701,200 | 22.2 | 1,361,380 | 1,345,406 | -1.2 | 2 |
| Tuscany | 1,489,823 | 19.5 | 1,175,413 | 1,062,551 | -9.6 | 3 |
| Lombardy | 861,080 | 11.2 | 663,407 | 763,996 | 15.2 | 4 |
| Emilia Romagna | 433,151 | 5.7 | 328,485 | 395,689 | 20.5 | 5 |
| Apulia | 355,62 | 4.6 | 281,817 | 234,197 | -16.9 | 6 |
| Campania | 188,805 | 2.5 | 148,620 | 150,775 | 1.4 | 7 |
| Piedmont | 149,198 | 1.9 | 111,373 | 132,713 | 19.2 | 8 |
| Abruzzo | 53,961 | 0.7 | 45,234 | 48,048 | 6.2 | 9 |
| Umbria | 57,240 | 0.7 | 48,276 | 42,786 | -11.4 | 10 |
| Trentino-Alto Adige | 93,511 | 1.2 | 79,249 | 36,405 | -54.1 | 11 |
| Lazio | 33 | 0.4 | 24,394 | 25,906 | 6.2 | 12 |
| Molise | 16,423 | 0.2 | 13,053 | 15,710 | 20.4 | 13 |
| Friuli-Venezia Giulia | 20,488 | 0.3 | 15,328 | 15,315 | -0.1 | 14 |
| Sardegna | 1573 | .. | 1033 | 5,663 | 448.2 | 15 |
| Other regions and/or not specified | 6622 | 0.1 | 4938 | 4,314 | -12.6 | 16 |
| Liguria | 5,452 | 0.1 | 4,087 | 3,624 | -11.3 | 17 |
| Sicily | 3493 | .. | 2638 | 3,076 | 16.6 | 18 |
| Calabria | 721 | .. | 658 | 306 | -53.5 | 19 |
| Valle d’Aosta | 126 | .. | 37 | 66 | 80.3 | 20 |
| Basilicata | 28 | .. | .. | 58 | .. | 21 |
| Italy | 7659651 | 100 | 6009556 | 6137426 | 472.4 |
Remember that the 2008 figures are estimates.
If you are curious to know just what ‘mafiaeconomics’ is, then have a look at the post entitled: The Mighty Mafia Business Machine
Oh, by the way, US President Barack Obama‘s first feet will soon be wearing a fine pair of hand made Italian shoes. For more, see this recent Ansa article: Obama to walk in Italian shoes
Footwear Export Information Source: ISTAT
