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The Chair Siro Badon: “Now, more than ever, we need to support Italian manufacturing abroad, as this is the only driver for the post-Covid economic recovery” ASSOCALZATURIFICI ORGANISES A COLLECTIVE OF ITALIAN COMPANIES AT THE AYMOD INTERNATIONAL FAIR IN TURKEY Italian shoes land in Turkey. Assocalzaturifici is organising a collective of Italian companies for the Aymod international fair, which is scheduled to take place in Istanbul between 31 March and 3 April 2021. A total of fourteen companies will be participating and represent some of the most important Italian footwear brands. “Turkey is a leading manufacturer, but it is also a market with great potential – states Siro Badon, Chair of Assocalzaturifici – It is the 6th largest global footwear manufacturer in terms of volume, with 535 million pairs produced in 2019, and is also the 6th largest exporter, with 275 million pairs. However, local products cater to a very different market segment than Italian shoes. According to calculations by the Confindustria Moda Research Centre based on ISTAT data, in the first 11 months of 2020, Italy exported 760,242 pairs of shoes (-9.1%, a reduction that was less severe than many other markets, in this very difficult year) for a corresponding value of 42.08 million euro (-14.3%), with an average price per pair of 55.35 euro (-5.7%). The top three Italian exporting regions are Lombardy, Veneto and Marche, which account for 64% of total exports. Despite the difficult economic situation Turkey is currently experiencing, this is a market that should not be overlooked for our medium-high quality footwear production and it is also a country that can be reached safely even during the pandemic. For this reason, we continue to support our companies in their internationalisation efforts in Turkey and other important markets, by helping them attend foreign trade fairs, which still represents a great opportunity to come into contact with local players from the sector and improve business prospects.”