There is also alarm on the island due to the consequences of the war in the Middle East, with repercussions already evident on the export of many products linked to the island's craftsmanship.

This was clarified by Confartigianato Imprese Sardegna, which through the words of its president Giacomo Meloni expressed "strong concerns" because "Sardinia, although geographically distant from the conflicts, risks suffering severe repercussions".
THE DATA – The focus on the export of Sardinian products to the Middle East , carried out last year by the Research Office of Confartigianato Imprese Sardegna, based on ISTAT sources, speaks of sales of goods and services for over 1.5 billion euros , equivalent to 1.39% of the regional added value produced, to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Qatar, Kuwait and 12 other nations. In addition to refining products, there are food and beverages, fashion and design, stone and furniture, IT and digital systems, machinery and plants, the best-selling products, much sought-after for their quality and originality.

Sardinia is ranked seventh in the national rankings regarding the exposure of exports to the crisis , behind Tuscany, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Lombardy and Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

At a national level, there is concern about possible blockages in the Strait of Hormuz , a strategic hub through which more than a quarter of global seaborne oil and a fifth of LNG transit. In 2025 – Confartigianato specifies – Italy imported energy goods through this channel for 9.6 billion euros, equal to 14.2% of the total, with a strong exposure to suppliers such as Saudi Arabia (3.5 billion euros between crude and refined oil), Iraq (2 billion), the United Arab Emirates (0.7 billion), Kuwait (0.6 billion) and Qatar (2.5 billion in LNG).

ENERGY EXPENSES – Then there is the issue of energy costs. The worsening of the crisis in the Middle East with the outbreak of the Israel-Iran conflict, together with the clashes between India and Pakistan and the protracted war between Russia and Ukraine, has already triggered a rise in the prices of energy raw materials and growing uncertainty in international trade, further exacerbated by the prospect of a global trade war. For Italy, highly dependent on energy imports from these areas, the fragile recovery in exports recorded in the first four months of 2025 (+2.5%) is at risk.

" The high cost of energy - the President underlines - has a direct impact on our laboratories, workshops and micro-enterprises . The increase in the price of oil and gas could cost our GDP up to 0.2 percentage points in 2026 , slowing down investments and holding back growth, even on the Island".

EXPORT DECREASE – The data clearly shows how exports to the 25 markets affected by conflicts – which represent 9.8% of total Italian exports and 19.9% of non-EU exports – have already slowed down . In the first quarter of 2025, in fact, there was a decline of 0.6%, with significant declines in Libya, Turkey and Egypt, historical partners also for the island's crafts.
"Sardinia is not excluded from this scenario," Meloni points out, "many of our exporting companies operate precisely in the most exposed sectors: the risk is that efforts and investments made in recent years will be nullified by a crisis over which entrepreneurs have no control."

THE APPEAL – The President launches an appeal to national and European institutions to take into due consideration the economic consequences of these crises on the territories and on small businesses: «We ask for rapid and effective support tools, capable of containing the effects of international shocks. We need a foreign policy oriented towards stability and peace, but also an economic strategy that puts SMEs at the center, which remain the engine of the regional and national economy». «Sardinian businesses – concludes Meloni – are used to resisting and reinventing themselves, but without stability and without a sustainable economic framework it will be increasingly difficult to remain competitive, maintain jobs and guarantee operational continuity».

(Online Union)

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