Exports from Piedmont to Islamic Finance countries grow

Turin - In 2015 the Region Piedmont exported goods and services to the Islamic Finance countries for a total value of 2.6 billion euros, up 16.2 percent from 2014. Imports totalled 1.7 billion euros, up 17.5 percent from a year earlier. The year under review has shown a positive trade balance of 895 million euros, up 13.6 percent from 2014.

These data were disclosed at the Turin Islamic Economic Forum (TIEF), which opened on Monday, March 6 in the region's capital city. Exports to these countries showed a positive trend also through the first nine months of 2016, marking a 7.3 percent growth if compared to the same period in 2015 and already exceeding two billion euros.

Among the Islamic Finance countries, Turkey is the region's number one trading partner. Of all the goods to be exported to that area, 68 percent were sold to Turkey in the first months of 2016, marking an 18 percent increase from the same period a year earlier. The UAE (10.2 percent) and Saudi Arabia (8.2 percent) followed at some distance, recording a contraction in volumes in the January-September period 2016. Transportation vehicles, mechanics in general, and food and beverage products are the region's main export industries, accounting for 33 percent, 23 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively, of all sales.