According to data released by Istat on Italy’s foreign trade, currently available for non-EU countries only, Italy exported goods worth €47.9 billion in the first two months of 2025, recording a moderate increase of +0.4% compared to the same period in 2024.
During the same period, Italy imported goods worth €42.8 billion, registering a +13.3% increase compared to the first two months of 2024.
The trade balance for the first two months of 2025 with non-EU countries was positive, amounting to +€5.1 billion. Excluding the energy sector (which recorded a deficit of -€9.4 billion), the trade surplus amounted to +€14.5 billion.
Geographical trends based on currently available data for Italy’s main non-EU trading partners, export growth in value was particularly strong in the following countries/regions: Switzerland (+15.5%), OPEC countries (+11.8%), the United Kingdom (+10.2%), the Middle East (+6.8%), MERCOSUR countries (+4.1%), Japan (+3%), and India (+2.4%). Exports to ASEAN countries (-2.1%), the United States (-2.8%), Turkey (-9.2%), China (-12.7%), and Russia (-22.6%) recorded decreases.
Sector-wise, data is currently available only for groups of goods. The increase in exports was mainly driven by higher sales of non-durable consumer goods (+8.9%) and intermediate goods (+4.2%). The increase in imports was broad-based, with the most significant growth seen in durable consumer goods (+28.6%), non-durable consumer goods (+22.5%), and intermediate goods (+13.9%).
Foreign trade performance with non-EU countries in February 2025
Considering only the month of February 2025, compared to February 2024, Italian exports to non-EU countries recorded a slight decrease of -2.1%. However, this decline was influenced by high-impact operations in the shipbuilding sector recorded in February 2024. Excluding these operations, Italian exports showed a growth of +1.7%.
Italian imports from non-EU countries also increased by +8.6%, driven by higher purchases, particularly of durable consumer goods (+17.1%), non-durable consumer goods (+17.9%), and energy (+17.6%).
