Matteo Zoppas explains Ita’s plan for Made in Italy

Investment in digitalization and reshoring and expansion into emerging countries such as Africa, Vietnam, and Indonesia will be just some of the goals of the Italian Trade Agency (Ita) to write the future chapter of the Italian fashion industry and its production. The Agency, which supports the overseas promotion of Italian companies and the internationalization process with 79 offices in 67 countries, is also working on the integration of the team, following the recent appointment of President Matteo Zoppas, who exclusively explained to MFF the objectives of the new role and the state of health of the sector and exports.

What will be the strategic pillars you will work on?

The guidelines are defined by the Government through the steering cabin of the Ministry of foreign affairs and International cooperation (Maeci), the Ministry of enterprises and made in Italy (Mimit), and the Ministry of agriculture, Food sovereignty and forestry (Masaf) led by Antonio Tajani, Adolfo Urso, and Francesco Lollobrigida, respectively. I had been asked from the very first moment is to prioritize the development of foreign trade. We are on the eve of a moment of great change for ITA, as four central directors and adirector general are being appointed. It will be appropriate to make assessments on de-bureaucratization, considering both digitization and the new procurement code that looks more at results, and we will do that together with our board of directors. It will then be significant to follow up on the nation branding campaign, dedicated to the promotion of Made in Italy, more focused on B2B, and trade fair, business matching, and incoming activities will play an important role.

What forecast do you estimate for the future of the fashion industry?

A major problem of the industry is related to labor supply availability, which will have a direct impact on the product availability. The 667-billion euros goal hypothesized by sace’s report regarding total Italian exports is not unreachable, thanks to the strength and reputation that the Made in Italy label has been able to create for itself in the world through the food, fashion, and furniture sectors. Our forecast is that there may be some up and down months, but we are cautiously optimistic that there will be a positive result compared to last year.

Which countries are the strongest at the moment in terms of luxury and which are the developing ones?

The target markets are still the Us and the European countries. For the first time since the end of the pandemic, we have seen the return of buyers from China, but also the increase of operators from Africa and other developing countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia, on which ITA is placing great attention as they are strategic for our exports.

Will reshoring be able to drive the industry upward?

Reshoring represents a very positive phenomenon for Italy. Our b2b companies were forced to go abroad in order not to lose customers who were emigrating. Now that production costs are slowly realigning with ours, they are regaining interest in returning to Italy. The government itself is working to make it worthwhile for them to return and Ita is also moving, together with the national economic system, to strengthen the stock of investments from abroad that are growing steadily.

How much is rising costs impacting foreign competitiveness?

We are coming out of the long period of Covid-19 and the inflationary impacts that have weighed on foreign trade. We are on the eve of a time when logistics costs are coming back to normal, although not at the initial level yet, and energy costs are coming down. This bodes well for a return of competitiveness in foreign markets.

What actions will ITA take to protect the supply chain?

ITA will continue to work on protection tools such as blockchain and projects such as TrackIT, fielded by the agency to track the supply chain. We will carry on the battle against Italian Sounding. In terms of norms, the Government is very attentive to the protection of our brands, as evidenced by the recent approval of the made in Italy bill, so desired by minister Adolfo Urso, which provides for the use of the transaction register to certify and protect Italian products. (All rights reserved)