By Sabina Suzzi
MILAN, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Sales of household appliances in Italy are seen falling around 5 percent in 2008 after a weak October, the chairman of industry association Ceced Italia said.
"The purchasing power of households has fallen and what happened around the world has brought a wave of pessimism and concern," Piero Moscatelli told Reuters in a telephone interview on Wednesday.
Sales in the 10 months to October fell 4 percent, driven by products like air conditioners, which fell 25-30 percent, and heating appliances, while small and professional appliances performed slightly better, he said.
"October was worse than all the previous period, it is not a structural issue but due to the economic situation," he said.
Ceced members include Indesit, Italy's largest white goods maker, De Longhi, Elica, and Sabaf.
Indesit in October posted a 24.7 percent fall in third-quarter net profit on a consumer slowdown and currency volatility and warned of a "difficult" last quarter leading to a 7 percent fall in sales this year.
Moscatelli said manufacturers should continue investing to gain competitive edge in the global markets ahead of a 2009 which is expected to be difficult for the sector.
Emerging markets like eastern Europe and Russia, which are important for the sector, are also slowing.
"(Eastern Europe and Russia) held until October, but between October and November they started showing slowdown signals, but fortunately there is still growth, even if it is just single-digit and not double-digit," he said.
Moscatelli called on the Italian government to simplify taxation and continue to offer incentives for more efficient products to help the sector. (Reporting by Sabina Suzzi; Writing by Danilo Masoni; editing by Elaine Hardcastle)