An Italian textile machinery delegation will be on hand at the upcoming ITME Africa, to be held in Addis Ababa from 14 February to 16 February 2020.
Ethiopia is an emerging production hub for the global textile and garments industry. Cheap labour costs, free trade agreements with major Western markets and a constantly growing economy have made this Sub-Saharan African Country an important destination for the manufacturing of garments by major fashion brands.
Given the necessary upgrade in technology required, the demand for textile machinery is growing consequently, supported by incentive schemes provided by the local authorities to support and develop Ethiopian textile sector.
Thus, the first edition of ITME Africa trade fair will feature 22 Italian textile machinery manufacturers at the Italian pavilion organized by the Italian Trade Agency. Among these are the following ACIMIT associated members: Arioli, Biancalani, Bianco, Bonino, Carù, Corino, Erhardt-Leimer, Fadis, Ferraro, Flainox, Lafer, Loptex, Mariplast, Mcs, Mesdan, Pugi, Ratti, Reggiani, Roj, Santoni, Savio.
ACIMIT President Alessandro Zucchi is confident in this first edition of ITME Africa, “Our exports to Ethiopia have grown significantly over the past five years, although their overall value remains quite modest (2.8 million euros in 2018).” In 2019 January-July period Italian exports towards Ethiopian market reached a value of 3.3 million euros. Zucchi continues: “The quality of our machine technology is superior to that of our competitors currently operating in this market. Our focus is on getting potential buyers to get to know and appreciate the quality of our technology, through opportunities such as ITME Africa, as well as through the institutional missions organized in recent years, thanks to the support of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development and Italian Trade Agency.” ITME Africa will also give Italian exhibitors the opportunity to meet textile companies from Kenya and Tanzania, Countries object of a recent institutional mission.
General information on Italy’s textile machinery sector and ACIMIT
ACIMIT represents an industrial sector that comprises roughly 300 manufacturers (employing around 12,000 people), which produce machinery for an overall worth of around 2.5 billion euros, of which 83% are exported. Creativity, sustainable technology, reliability and quality are the hallmarks that have made Italian textile machinery worldwide leaders.
