In August 2025, according to the data IstatItaly’s foreign trade recorded a cyclical decline, more marked for imports (-3.7%) than for exports (-2.7%). This is a monthly decline that interrupts two consecutive months of growth. The decrease in exports is mainly due to the contraction in sales to non-EU countries (-7.7%), while exports to the EU area increased by 2.1%. Overall, in the June-August 2025 quarter, compared to the previous period, Italian exports grew by 1.2%, while imports recorded a slight reduction (-0.3%). This means that, despite the slowdown in August, the dynamics of foreign trade remains positive on a quarterly basis.
Export and import on an annual basis
Comparing the data with the same month of 2024, Italian exports show a decline of 1.1% in value and 2.8% in volume. The reduction is due to the sharp drop in sales towards non-EU markets (-7.0%), which offsets the growth towards the EU area (+5.4%). Imports fell by 3.0% in value, with a similar reduction in both areas: -3.0% for EU countries and -2.9% for non-EU countries. In terms of volume, imports decreased by 4.1%.
The most affected and growing sectors
Among the sectors that contribute most to the decrease in exports are:
- machinery and equipment nec (-5.6%)
- sporting goods, games, musical instruments and similar products (-19.8%)
- leather goods, excluding clothing (-9.5%)
However, some strategic sectors for the Italian economy are growing:
- pharmaceutical, chemical-medicinal and botanical articles +15.1%
- base metals and metal products (excluding machinery) +14.0%
- coke and refined petroleum products +11.4%
- food products, drinks and tobacco +0.7%
These data show how the sectors linked to pharmaceuticals and metallurgy are driving exports, partially offsetting the contraction in consumer goods and industrial machinery.
The main commercial partners
On a geographical level, Italian sales record mixed results. The strongest drops concern the United States (-21.1%), Turkey (-25.9%) and China (-16.3%). On the contrary, the growth of exports to European countries is sustained: France (+20.6%), Spain (+9.4%), the Netherlands (+13.5%), the United Kingdom (+7.3%) and Belgium (+8.8%).
Overall, in the first eight months of 2025, Italian exports grew by 2.6% compared to the same period in 2024. The best performances come from:
- pharmaceutical and chemical-medicinal items (+34.8%)
- means of transport excluding motor vehicles (+12.1%)
- base metals and metal products (+4.8%)
- food products, drinks and tobacco (+4.8%)
The most marked drops instead concern refined petroleum products (-15.6%) and motor vehicles (-9.3%).
Trade balance and energy deficit
The Italian trade balance in August 2025 was positive for 2.05 billion euros, an improvement compared to the surplus of 1.33 billion recorded a year earlier. The energy deficit is reduced from -4.12 billion euros in 2024 to -3.43 billion in 2025, a sign of lower costs linked to the import of energy raw materials. The surplus of non-energy products remains stable, equal to +5.48 billion euros. These results indicate a better balance of the trade balance, favored both by the containment of energy imports and by the good stability of exports to European countries.
