I distretti resistono, avanzo commerciale a ridosso del record

Italian districts defy adversity as commercial trade edges closer to record highs. Despite international turmoil, the Hormuz crisis, and slowed investments, the country's district exports closed the second quarter with an almost balanced export, becoming positive when jewelry exports to Turkey, a typical slump after an exceptional surge last year, are excluded.

According to Intesa San Paolo's Monitor, there is an average decline of 0.9% in exports (after the -2.4% in the first three months), with 73 districts still registering growth. The comparison between the first and second quarters reveals improvement in nearly all district sectors, except for fashion goods. While transport, metallurgy, and food & beverage districts saw export growth after the first quarter, other intermediate and construction materials areas also returned to positive territory.

Fashion intermedi showed stability, and metal products contained the decline below 1%. Commercial trade advanced 24 billion in the quarter, 47 in the first six months, maintaining a record high. Leading exporters in the period are Valenza's jewelry, Brescia's metals, and Bari's meccatronics, adding over 700 million in exports for the first half compared to the same period in 2025.

Conversely, gold from Arezzo dropped 1.3 billion in exports (district almost halved), nearly the entire decline of the entire districts. Jewelry suffered from the withdrawal of 2024 and 2025's unordinary semi-finished product sales to Turkey due to a regulation limiting lingot purchases and imposing tariffs on yellow metal imports from non-EU countries.

In terms of markets, despite Turkey's drop (also affecting the UAE, USA, China), there are widespread growths elsewhere, from Switzerland and France to Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Greece. The Middle East area is generally heavily impacted by the Hormuz crisis, a decline of nearly half a billion in the semester, 13.2% of exports to the region.

After a 21.6% median decline in the first quarter, the situation seems to stabilize with -4.4% to areas involved in the conflict between April and June. "Our districts," explains Intesa San Paolo's Regional Research responsible Giovanni Foresti, "even in a complex phase like the current one, show a considerable resilience, highlighting a notable ability to find opportunities in multiple markets, despite difficulties encountered in specific areas, such as the Middle East.

The commercial balance remains near the peaks, offering a significant contribution to our economy. What's next? The outlook remains complex, and it is expected that Europe's inflation peaks may act as a slowdown for continental demand."