Acimall, the industry trade association, said the value of production dipped to €1.54bn last year, but was characterised by substantial stability, especially on foreign sales.
"Those markets maintained good levels of receptivity, while on the domestic front a strong recovery is expected by the end of 2014," the organisation said in its annual report.
There are about 270 major companies operating in the wood processing machinery and tool industry in Italy with a workforce of more than 9,000.
Acimall said more than 77% of the total production is destined for foreign markets. Machinery sold abroad totalled €1.2bn, a decrease of 3.5% since 2012.
The acquisition of machinery from abroad increased 9.4% to €143m.
The UK bought €40.6m worth of machinery last year, a fall of 13.3% from 2012. Acimall said: "the UK economy is undergoing a strong recovery, which has been assisted by an expansionary monetary policy and by labour market dynamics aimed at sustaining household consumption."
While the EU, especially Germany, remains the main export market, Italy exported a total of €55m worth of woodworking machinery to Africa last year and €114m to the Americas.
