Foreign trade and Industrial import prices

In March 2020 seasonally-adjusted data, compared to February 2020, decreased by -16.8% for both outgoing flows and incoming flows. Exports fell for both EU countries (-15.2%) and non EU countries (-18.5%). Imports decreased by -17.0% for EU countries and by -16.4% for non EU countries.

Over the last three months, seasonally-adjusted data, compared to the previous three months, dropped for both exports (-4.1%) and imports (-5.1%).

In March 2020, compared with the same month of the previous year, both exports and imports fell (-13.5% and -18,1% respectively). Outgoing flows decreased by -12.2% for EU countries and by -14.7% for non EU countries. Incoming flows dropped by -15.5% for EU area and by -21.7% for non EU area. The trade balance in March 2020 amounted to +5,685 million Euros (5,082 million Euros for non EU area and +603 million Euros for EU countries).

In March 2020, import prices decreased by 3.1% on monthly basis (unchanged for the the euro zone, -5.9% for the non-euro zone). Over the last three months, compared to the previous three months, import prices decreased by 2.0% (-0.3% for the euro zone and -3.6% for the non-euro zone).

Import prices decreased by 5.1% in March 2020, compared to the same month a year ago (-0.7% for the euro zone, -9.2% for the non-euro zone).

Covid-19 crisis had an impact on Intrastat survey and a decrease of number of declarations submitted was registered mainly as consequence of the deferral to 30 June of the transmission deadlines envisaged by the “Cura Italia” Decree. The actions carried out to tackle these disturbances in data collection (see Methodological note, page 11) have made it possible to process and disseminate intra-EU trade data of March 2020. These will be subject to revision when, once the suspension period of the transmission deadlines has ended, all Intrastat declarations of March will be available. Import prices survey registered a slight decrease of businesses response rate (see Methodological note, page 15).