The Italian Trade Agency for the promotion abroad and internationalization of Italian businesses, and ACIMIT, to host twelve Italian textile machinery makers to target the Vietnamese market at the upcoming Saigontex trade fair to be held next month.

The 12 machinery manufacturers are all ACIMIT associated members and include: A. Piovan, Beta Machinery, Carù, Fadis, Ferraro, JK Group, Mei, Pozzi Leopoldo, Pugi Group, Ratti, Rollmac, Tonello.

Vietnam already ranks eight among export markets for Italian textile machinery companies, with exports to Vietnam over the first nine months of 2015 reaching EUR 31 million, a 53% increase compared to the same period for 2014. Among the products most in demand are finishing/ennobling and spinning machinery.

Vietnam has recently become a major market for textile machinery manufacturers. Having emerged as an important manufacturing hub for the garments sector, thanks to low labour costs, the country has now received a further boost for developing its textile industry, through the free trade agreements recently signed with the European Union and United States.

According to Raffaella Carabelli, President of ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, in the face of these new scenarios, they are expecting over the medium term a strong boost in demand for textile machinery by Vietnamese textile manufacturers.

ACIMIT represents an industrial sector comprising around 300 companies (employing close to 12,000 people) that produce machinery for an overall value of about EUR 2.5 billion, with exports amounting to 84% of total sales. Italian textile technology is sold to around 130 countries worldwide.

Saigontex, the Vietnam Textile & Garment Industry Expo is the biggest and most important trade and information platform in Vietnam which will be take place from 30 March to 2 April in Hochiminh City.