The domestic production of Oil&Gas valves - which has more than 210 companies and 9,300 employees in Italy - has suffered greatly from the effects of both the pandemic and the war, but it is now recovering strongly. Italy leads Europe in Oil&Gas valve production, with 34.2 percent by value, compared with 28.3 percent in Germany and 7.3 percent in France. The situation has improved already in 2022, thanks mainly to exports, amounting to 3.2 billion, which, however, remain one percentage point lower than in 2019, while in the same time period global exports increased by 16.6 percent to 35.6 billion euros. This gap can be explained mainly by the geographic composition of exports, with Italian manufacturers historically skewed toward Russia. Italy - which still remains the world's third-largest exporter of valves, behind China and Germany - has also lost market share in Saudi Arabia, where exports of Italian valves have plummeted 30 percent from pre-pandemic levels, to Chinese competitors. "Italy is struggling a bit more to recover than other countries, especially in Asia, however, the sector is recovering strongly, thanks to a revival of investment, including from Italian customers such as Eni and Saipem," says Luca Ruggeri, Chief Commercial Officer of Valvitalia, one of the industry's largest groups. Many companies have compensated for the drop in the Russian market by diversifying their destination countries. Production is already sold through 2024.
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