Italy's non-EU exports down 11.7 pct, exports to China up 4.8 pct YoY: ISTAT

Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-25 01:11:27|Editor: huaxia

ROME, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Italy's exports to non-European Union (EU) countries dropped 11.7 percent in August 2020 compared with the same month last year, according to preliminary data published by the country's National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) on Thursday.

Italy's exports to members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) were down 27.5 percent, its exports to MERCOSUR countries (a South American trade bloc) dropped 25.5 percent, and its exports to Russia fell 20 percent in August compared with the same month last year, ISTAT said.

However, exports to China increased by 4.8 percent in the same period, the ISTAT report showed.

The year-on-year contraction in exports "spread across all sectors and was more marked for energy (down 54.8 percent), consumer durables (down 14.3 percent) and consumer non-durables (down 11.8 percent)," the ISTAT report said.

In August 2020, imports also declined year-on-year, dropping 16.4 percent compared with the same month last year, according to the report.

The decline in imports was "determined mainly by a significant drop in energy purchases (down 50.3 percent)," while imports of intermediate goods rose by 9.7 percent and imports of durable consumer goods were up 7.5 percent, ISTAT said.

The OPEC member countries are Algeria, Angola, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. MERCOSUR's full member countries include Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. Enditem

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