Official foreign trade data released today by ISTAT confirm the effectiveness of the Italian Government’s strategy and the Export Plan launched by Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani, which are delivering concrete results.
In December 2025, Italy’s trade with non-EU countries recorded positive growth for both imports and exports, with imports rising by 4.3% and exports by 1.5%.
On an annual basis, exports grew by 4.6% in December 2025, up from -2.8% in November 2025, while imports decreased by 1.2%. The month-on-month increase in exports was mainly driven by higher sales of capital goods (+3.7%), energy (+11.0%) and intermediate and durable consumer goods (both +2.4%), whereas non-durable consumer goods fell by 2.2%.
Italy’s trade surplus with non-EU countries reached EUR 8,385 million, up from EUR 6,923 million in the same month of 2024. The energy deficit declined from -EUR 5,080 million in December 2024 to -EUR 3,513 million in December 2025. The surplus in non-energy trade stood at EUR 11,899 million, slightly down from EUR 12,003 million the previous year.
Notably, in December 2025, exports to ASEAN countries (+47.8%) and Switzerland (+41.6%) recorded significant year-on-year increases. Sales also rose towards China (+7.8%) and OPEC countries (+4.8%). Conversely, exports fell to Türkiye (-17.7%), the United Kingdom (-10.5%), Mercosur countries (-9.6%), Japan (-7.3%) and the United States (-0.4%). Among imports, OPEC countries (-36.5%) recorded the largest year-on-year contraction. Purchases from Switzerland (-20.1%), ASEAN countries (-5.9%) and Türkiye (-1.8%) also declined, while imports from the United States (+61.1%) and Mercosur countries (+45.4%) increased.
