(Finance) – “Italy bases over a third of its GDP on foreign trade, around 660 billion euros, and it is bizarre that this sector does not have its own Minister of reference. The Ministry for Foreign Trade was foreseen with great foresight by the first de Gasperi Government and should be restored so that the country can remain competitive. Italian exports, as today’s ISTAT data demonstrate, are proving resilient but the loss of markets such as Russia and Ukraine, the great difficulties of Germany and the very high raw material and logistics costs must push us to work harder and better on emerging markets such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Africa by eliminating some structural limits”. This is what he said Lorenzo Zurino, president of the Italian Export Forum – IEF during the opening of the fifth edition of the General States of Export in Albarepresenting the over 2 thousand companies represented by the Italian Export Forum and which express around 200 billion in turnover, largely achieved outside Italy.
Among the main topics of the first day: the need to support the activity of exporting companies through the creation of a Ministry completely dedicated to export issues, a decisive policy of defense of Made in Italy nand international contexts, in particular against the “Italian sounding”an overall bureaucratic simplification, for example in customs clearance procedures, an improvement in rail and sea transport.
The need to help Italian exporting companies to grow and join together was also reiterated because – as stated by the Zurino –”small is not beautiful but it is just small. Size is a factor that helps a lot to be competitive on international markets”.
Large companies and SMEs, banks, trade associations, trade fair bodies, universities, professional associations present at the States General agreed on the importance of a permanent control room dedicated to exports and Made in Italy, given the role of a vital sector for the Italian economy.
During the event, the entry into the IEF board of the chairman of Anivad and Exor shareholder was made official, Eduardo Teodorani Fabbri and of Francesco Pugliesevice-president of Confcommercio.
Among the speakers who spoke on the first day was the president of the Piedmont Region Alberto Cirio; Flavius Briatore; the National President Coldiretti, Ettore Prandini; the vice-president and managing director of Irinox and vice-president of Confindustria, Katia Da Ros; the vice president of Confcommercio, Francesco Pugliese; the rector of Luiss Guido Carli, Andrea Principe; the president of Minerva Hub, Matteo Marzotto; the president of Cirio Agricola and Maccarese Agricola, Andrea Benetton; Marco Mandellichief corporate & Investment Banking Officer of BPER, main sponsor of the event.