Istat has released the analysis of Italy’s foreign trade performance. In August, exports held up from a value point of view, recording a trend growth of 9%. However, sales volume only increased by 1.9% compared to the previous year.
If the values are better than the previous year, compared to July 2026 there is a slight economic decline: -1.5% exports, -1.6% imports. A figure, the latter, partly conditioned by the important deliveries of ships and boats registered the month before. Net of this factor, the cyclical decline in exports is reduced to a more contained -0.4%.
Which countries and sectors are driving growth
Driving sales are non-EU markets which, despite tariffs and geopolitical tensions, increased by 16.7% on an annual basis. Exports to the EU area, however, slowed down, stopping at a modest +1.6%.
Among the destinations that record the greatest increases in our sales abroad we find:
- Switzerland (+57.1%)
- China (+32.7%)
- United States (+31.2%)
- OPEC countries (+17.8%)
The negative contribution of our exports is explained by the decrease in traffic with France (-8.3%), a historic continental partner.
The key sectors driving the export surge in value in August are:
- motor vehicles (+55.8%)
- refined petroleum products (+55.4%)
- base metals and metal products (+26.5%)
- other means of transport (+17.2%)
- food, drinks and tobacco (+5.4%)
Among the sectors in decline, only the sale of machinery and equipment stands out (-1.4%). A brake on what is historically one of the pillars of Italian exports is explained by the slowdown in industrial investments in Europe and the postponement of the purchase of capital goods by foreign companies.
Inflation effect: why turnover rises but goods do not
The gap between export growth in value (+9.0%) and volume (+1.9%) is easily explained by inflation. The increase in our manufacturing turnover is largely driven by the increase in sales costs.
The phenomenon is even more evident on the import front, which in August increased by 9.7% in value but recorded a contraction of 2.4% in volume. In essence, Italy is importing fewer physical goods, but paying much more for them.
Final budget
Italy’s global trade balance in August was confirmed as positive at 1,773 million euros, compared to a surplus in non-energy products of 6,925 million. However, the worsening of the energy deficit is weighing on the national accounts, which rises to 5.15 billion euros compared to the 3.43 billion recorded a year ago.
In the first eight months of 2026, the trade surplus, obtained from the difference between imports and exports, still rises to 34.7 billion euros, compared to 32.5 billion in the same period of 2025.
What is energy deficit
By energy deficit we mean the difference between the value of crude oil, gas and electricity that Italy purchases and that of energy materials (such as refined fuels and lubricants) that it sells outside the borders.
Since Italy is a structurally transformative country and dependent on foreign raw materials, the energy bill is perpetually in the red. The 7.3% year-on-year increase in import prices in August translated into higher costs for our industrial supply chains, draining resources from the surplus generated by non-energy exports.
