Press Release 19/05/2025

FOREIGN TRADE STATISTICS (ECOMEX). March 2025

Exports from the Basque Country increased by 6.6% in March 2025

Overall growth in the first quarter was 1.6%, with a positive trade balance of 753 million euros

In March 2025, exports of goods from the Basque Country amounted to 2,696 million euros, 6.6% higher than the same month of the previous year, according to Eustat data. Non-energy exports rose by 10.2%, and energy exports fell by 38.3%.

Imports registered an upturn of 11.7%, which meant an increase of 24.3% for non-energy products and a decrease of 20.1% for energy products.

In March 2025 there was a positive trade balance of 316 million euros and a coverage rate of 113.3%.

This month, exports from Bizkaia saw a drop of 2.0%, in Gipuzkoa these rose by 10.1% and in Álava they were up 14.0%. In the case of Bizkaia, energy exports fell by 38.8% compared to the same month of the previous year.

Products traded in March 2025

A more detailed look at the products reveals that the ten main customs duty groups accounted for 39.7% of exports, with a combined value of 1,070.6 million euros.

In the top 25 customs duty groups, noteworthy increases were recorded in four of them: “Machines for deburring, sharpening, grinding, rectifying, polishing or other finishing operations, for metal or cermet” (525.4% and 26 million), “Parts of railway or tramway locomotives or rolling stock” (252.2% and 64 million) and “Apparatus for the heat treatment of materials” (231.5% and 25.3 million), with the group “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” (61.5% and 286.8 million exports) lending its weight to the significant total growth.

“Refined petroleum oils” fell by 33.4% and “Goods transport vehicles” by 40.4%, the former posting 55.7 million less than the same month of the previous year, and the latter posting 68.4 million less.

As for imports, and for the 25 most significant customs duty groups, the greatest growth was seen in “Petroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbons” (3,224.3% and 56.4 million imported, almost all of which from Russia), “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” (1,560.0% and 47.3 million imported, primarily from Germany (31.3 million), Hungary (4.6 million) and the United States (3.5 million)), “Goods transport vehicles” (673.5% with 30.6 million imported, mainly from Germany (25.8 million), the United Kingdom (3.1 million) and Portugal (1.2 million)) and “Remelting scrap ingots of iron or steel” (79.4% and 54.3 million, essentially from France (32.5 million) and the United Kingdom (11 million), among other countries).

ÁLAVA. Exports during March 2025

In Álava, exports grew by 14.0% compared to the same month of the previous year. This fact can basically be explained by the good performance of sales of “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” (an increase of 271.3 million and 54.8%), “Parts of railway or tramway locomotives or rolling stock or similar” (25.3 million and 768.7%) and “Seamless tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel” (46.4 million and 46.2%).

However, “Goods transport vehicles” fell by 40.9% despite sales worth 99.9 million euros.

BIZKAIA. Exports during March 2025

Exports from the province of Bizkaia shrank by 2.0% as a result of significant downturns in products such as “Refined petroleum oils” (-33.9% with 55.8 million less than the same month of the previous year) and “Vehicle parts and accessories” (-13.3% and 10.3 million less).

Conversely, significant growth was recorded in sales of “Heat treatment induction equipment” (1,116.5% and 19.4 million), “Soybean oil” (69.0% and 22 million) and “Turbo-reactors, turbo-propellers and other gas turbines, and their parts and components” (47.2% and 41.8 million).

GIPUZKOA. Exports during March 2025

Exports from Gipuzkoa in March grew by 10.1%, due to the good performance of most of its main products such as “Iron or non-alloy steel sections” (48.5% with 61.7 million exported), “Taps, valves and similar appliances for pipes” (48.9% and 53,4 million), “Machines for washing, filling, sealing and labelling containers and packing machinery” (70.8% and 21.2 million), but above all, “Parts of railway or tramway locomotives or rolling stock or similar” (156.7 and 37.7 million), and “Machines for deburring, sharpening, grinding, rectifying, polishing or other finishing operations, for metal or cermet” (544.0% and 26 million).

Destination countries March 2025

This month, the top positions in the export ranking were occupied by:

- France: 429.0 million euros’ worth of goods were exported to this country, with a coverage rate of 198.9%.

- Germany: received products from the Basque Country worth 392.1 million euros, with a coverage rate of 94.9 %.

- Italy: sales to this country reached 170.2 million euros, with a coverage rate of 144.4 %.

- United Kingdom: exports to this country amounted to 164.9 million euros, with a coverage rate of 310.6 %.

- United States: where 160.6 million euros’ worth of Basque exports were sent, achieving a coverage rate of 178.2 %.

These countries received 48.8% of total exports and three of them form part of the EU27, which accounted for 62.9% of the Basque Country’s exports.

FIRST QUARTER 2025: Over the first three months of 2025 as a whole, foreign trade in goods in the Basque Country had a positive balance of 753 million euros, with a coverage rate of 110.9%

A rise of 1.6% was registered in exports from the Basque Country in respect of the same period for the previous year, equivalent to an increase of 117 million euros. Total exports during this period amounted to 7,646 million euros.

Bizkaia exports were the largest in the Basque Country, with a total of 2,680 million euros, Gipuzkoa accounted for 2,470 million and Álava 2,496 million.

In terms of product type, “Non-energy products” were the most numerous, with 7,381.6 million euros in exports.

A more detailed look at the products reveals an increase (42.5%) in exports of “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” (874.7 million in exports), “Parts of railway or tramway locomotives or rolling stock or similar” (157.4% and 109.8 million) and “Soybean oil” (196.11% and 66.5 million).

The most drastic drops were in “Vehicle parts and accessories” (45.7 million less than the previous year, -7.7%), “Goods transport vehicles” (99.7 million less, -22.3%) and, above all, “Refined petroleum oils” (210.5 million less, -51.3%).

The export ranking for the first three months of 2025 placed France as the leading recipient of Basque exports, with 15.6% of the total exported (1,196.6 million euros). France was followed by Germany (14.8%, 1,134.0 million euros) and the United Kingdom (6.5%, 493.2 million euros). Between them, these three countries accounted for nearly 36.9% of Basque exports.

Cumulative imports for the Basque Country as a whole amounted to 6,893 million euros. According to the year-on-year comparison, this figure is 385 million euros higher than that registered in the same period of the previous year (5.9%). This increase is partly due to the fact that during this period, the province of Álava (with cumulative imports of 1,709 million euros) recorded growth of 23.1%, i.e. 321 million euros more than during the same period in 2024. Imports also rose in Gipuzkoa by 210 million euros (16.8%), reaching a total of 1,462 million euros. However, Bizkaia reported a decrease of 3.8% (equivalent to 146 million euros), with a total of 3,721 million euros. Imports of “Energy products” fell by 12%, although those of “Non-energy products” rose by 12.8%.

An analysis of the products/groups imported in this period reveals that the ranking was topped by “Petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals” (1,003.2 million euros, 194.7 million less than in the previous year, representing a 16.3% decrease), with “Refined petroleum oils” in second place (417.4 million euros of imports, down 84.3 million with a decrease of 16.8%). These groups were followed by “Vehicle parts and accessories” (-12.1% and 220.3 million) and “Petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons”, with 160.8 million imported, equivalent to an increase of 76.7%.

Foreign trade of goods in the Basque Country for the first quarter of the year recorded a positive balance of 753.4 million euros, while the coverage rate reached 110.9%.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea/Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tel.: 945 01 75 62