Artificial intelligence, new technologies, ESG transition, geopolitical risks and climate change. Exports are growing again and are experiencing a great moment of transformation between new risks and emerging opportunities. In this context, SACE (Servizi Assicurativi del Commercio Estero), the italian Foreign Trade Insurance Services presented the Doing Export Report 2024 which delves into the growth potential of Italian exports and the new routes on which companies must focus, counting on SACE's solutions, connections and knowledge tools. But this year there is something new: nine guidelines have been traced along which Italian companies must structure their growth strategies to shine - be "sparkling" - and be a company of the future.

“Italian companies find themselves crossing the threshold of a new era, where, to be competitive, they must rethink and invest, focusing on agile and sustainable organizational models and looking to the future", declared Alessandra Ricci , CEO of SACE. " And for all this, SACE is there, together with companies with solutions, people and offices, in Italy and around the world. SACE's Doing Export Report is the practical guide to evolve, monitor and intercept opportunities for Italian exports in a complex international context, but with high potential for Made in Italy".

“Good news for exports: growth is back. Italy confirms itself among the top exporters in the world: 679 billion in 2025 and 4% growth in the next two years. And the opportunities come from the Gate markets where SACE is present and which today are worth 80 billion euros and could be worth 95 by 2027: Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Turkey, Serbia, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, India, China, Vietnam, Singapore ", explained Alessandro Terzulli , Chief Economist of SACE. "The future is not tomorrow, it is today and companies can develop their potential by exploiting artificial intelligence and new technologies also in sectors of the future such as instrumental mechanics applied to efficiency, circularity applied to production cycles and low carbon technologies which are worth 40 billion today and could be worth 50 billion by 2025".

Sales across borders will grow in 2024 and continue at a sustained pace over the next three years, with a return to growth dynamics similar to those pre-pandemic. The decline in inflation and the consequent progressive cut in interest rates will also contribute, with an improvement in global financial conditions. After a 2023 characterized by a relative and partly physiological weakness in trade in goods, the value of Italian exports of goods will record a +3.7% this year, +4.5% in 2025 and +4.2% on average in the following two years. The value in euros in 2024 will exceed 650 billion while next year it will reach 679 billion. The positive trend is also confirmed for the national export of services, with an average growth in value of 4% in 2024-2027, thanks also to the continuous development of the most advanced digital technologies (in particular artificial intelligence), which will act as paving the way for a new phase of globalization.

The adoption of new technologies is also dictating the evolution of consumer goods: from the fashion sector to wood-furniture which use innovative products and processes, such as 3D printing. For intermediate goods, positive signals will come this year from cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, while from 2025 also from chemicals in the strict sense. Agri-food confirms itself as one of the leading sectors for foreign sales of Made in Italy, once again thanks to digital and sustainable evolution: sensors, intelligent irrigation devices, crop monitoring and management platforms are just examples of how Italian companies are facing the challenges of the future.

95 billion represents the Italian export that will be generated by 2027 from the 14 Gate markets identified and managed by SACE, from East to West. Gate is an acronym that stands for Growing, Ambitious, Transforming and Emerging with which SACE has identified the most promising countries for Made in Italy foreign sales. Markets that have stood out for their growth, ambition, transformation and high potential, where SACE is present with its offices to support Italian companies. China, India, Singapore, Vietnam in Asia; United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye in the Middle and Near East; Serbia; Egypt and Morocco in the wake of the Mattei Plan together with South Africa as entry points on the Sub-Saharan Continent; up to Brazil, Mexico, Colombia in Latin America. Specifically, around 80 billion euros of Italian goods were exported in 2023, which will grow by 5.4% this year and 7% in 2025.