A 10% growth for Italy

At year's end 2010, Italian exports of plastics and rubber machinery exceeded 2 billion euro, thus posting a ten-point increase with respect to 2009. Conversely, according to official statistics, imports did not exceed 567 million euro. As a result, the trade balance improved significantly even though it had been broadly positive in the previous two years, when both imports and exports fell to the deepest point due to the well known world crisis.
In light of these numbers and to its sentiment surveys, the Italian trade Association Assocomaplast finally estimated the value of the national production of plastics and rubber machinery: 3.6 billion euro versus 3.3 in 2009, thanks to the good performance of sales abroad, which sustained the recovery of the Made-in-Italy.