Italy continues to confirm its important position in international trade, despite the global economic challenges. The data released byIstat On January 29, 2025, relating to December 2024, they show a increase in exports of 3.9% compared to the same month of the previous year.
Even in the face of a mild drop in imports by 0.3%, Italian exports shows a resilience that translates into a commercial surplus of 7,790 million euros, although with a reduction compared to 8.104 million December 2023.
But let’s see in detail what the data say and where and what Italy exports more abroad.
Export sectors and products and products in Italy
At the sectoral level, Italy has recorded a significant growth in energy sales (+5.4%)consumer goods not durable (+16.5%) and durable (+14.8%), as well as intermediate goods (+4.7%). These sectors, crucial for the Italian economy, continue to be decisive in the foreign commercial budget.
In particular, the increase in exports of non -durable and durable consumer goods underlines one stable questionespecially in emerging markets, but also in traditional territories such as the United Kingdom, which has seen an increase in Italian sales of 11.5%.
For example, the growth of energy exports, although lower than other sectors, confirms the constant importance for Italy of its production and its natural resourceswhich find an expanding market, despite the changes in energy prices and in general in global energy costs.
However, Not all categories have seen a positive trend. The exports of durable capital and consumer goods have recorded a drop respectively of -7.5% and -9.4%, a phenomenon that could be linked to a weaker demand in some key areas, such as United States and Chinatraditional markets that have seen a contraction in Italian imports.
Emerging geographies and traditional markets
Another fundamental element is The geographical distribution of Italian exports. In December 2024, impressive increases are recorded to ASEAN countries (+39.9%) and a solid performance towards the United Kingdom (+11.5%).
The growth in exports to Asean countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) is a clear testimony of the growing opening of the Asian marketwhich continues to represent one Key frontier for the Italian industryespecially in the fashion, food and energy sectors.
On the other hand, one is observed flexion of sales to China (-6.0%), the United States (-3.7%) and OPEC countries (-1.6% in Algeria, Angola, Congo, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Arab Emirates). These drops could reflect complex dynamics linked to geopolitical tensions and an increasingly fierce competition by other global economic actors. In particular, the decrease in exports to China could be related to a slowdown question in some industrial areas and the uncertainty that surrounds Chinese commercial policy.
How it goes Italian exports and how solid it is
As for the commercial surplus, which occurs when The value of exports exceeds that of imports, Istat data show a solid Italy.
In detail, the surplus is equal to 12,427 million euros, compared to the 13,112 million of the same month of the previous year, but this does not diminish the general performance, which continues to be positive. Means that The country continues to sell more goods and services abroad of how many purchasesgenerating a positive balance in its commercial scale.
However, Italian exports show moderate but constant growth, The panorama of imports is not as homogeneous. Imports from countries such as the United States (-27.5%), Opec countries (-15.1%) and Mercosur (-4.5%in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay) are in fact in strong decline.
On the contrary, Italy has seen a strong increase in purchases From countries such as ASEAN (+93.0%), India (+39.6%), Turkey (+18.2%), China (+15.7%) and Switzerland (+14 , 5%), as a reflection of a growing demand for capital goods, intermediate assets and durable consumer products, which testify to a return of trust in some industrial areas and a rediscovery of Italian competitiveness in the technological and infrastructure sectors.
In light of the data reported and updated by Istat, it is possible to say that Italian export is experiencing a positive phase. Although some areas have recorded a contraction, in fact, there are other sectors that continue to be strategic and overflowing. For this reason, Italian exports shows solid competitiveness and resilience.
