Press Release 18/08/2025

FOREIGN TRADE STATISTICS (ECOMEX). June 2025

Exports of goods from the Basque Country were down 1.4% in June 2025

Exports of non-energy products, on the other hand, grew by 2.5%

In June 2025, exports of goods from the Basque Country recorded a year-on-year decrease of 1.4%, according to EUSTAT data. They totalled 2,732 million euros, compared to 2,770 million in the same month of the previous year. Exports of Energy products decreased by 59.8% and those of Non-energy products increased by 2.5%.

Gipuzkoa saw exports rise by 16.6% and in Álava they were up 8.7%, while in Bizkaia exports fell by 22.6%.

Imports of goods to the Basque Country experienced an increase of 1.3%, reaching 2,296 million euros. Energy imports decreased by 16.1%, but Non-energy imports rose by 6.4%.

The trade balance was positive (436 million euros) and the coverage rate stood at 119%.

Imports were up 8.8% in Álava, but down 1.3% in both Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa.

Analysis by product (Customs Duty Group)

A more detailed look reveals that the five main export duty groups this June were: "Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats" (301.1 million, with a year-on-year increase of 31.6 million, equivalent to 11.7% more than in June 2024), "Vehicle parts and accessories" (177.4 million, with a drop of 18.2 million, -9.3%), "Goods transport vehicles" (161.4 million, with a rise of 42.9 million and relative growth of 5.9%), "Fishing vessels and factory ships for processing marine products" (with 79.7 million in exports) and "Refined petroleum oils" (61.5 million in exports, with a decrease of 18.6 million compared to the previous year, equivalent to -23.2%). These groups accounted for 28.6% of the total in June 2025, with a combined value of 781.2 million euros.

In Álava, the two main customs duty groups, "Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats" (31.9% of the total exported in this province) and "Goods transport vehicles" (18.3% of the overall figure), registered significant increases in respect of the previous year, with rises of 51 million and 42.2 million, respectively. "Railway or tramway vehicle parts" saw the biggest increase (366.1%), while "Diesel and electric motor units for railway tracks and motorised trams" (35.5 million in exports) also recorded significant growth, which was due to the lack of exports in the same period of the previous year.

In contrast, exports were down in "New rubber tyres" (38 million less or -71.3%), as well as in "Vehicle parts and accessories" (-29.0%) and "Seamless tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel" (-20.7%), both of which were among the most significant groups in terms of total exports.

In Bizkaia, of particular note was the increase in exports of "Unfilleted frozen fish", which rose from 3.5 million in June 2024 to 22.4 million in June 2025 (542.1%). Among the other top groups, only exports of "New rubber tyres" (up 10.4% with 2.6 million more) increased significantly. On the other hand, the two largest export groups in Bizkaia saw a decline, namely "Refined petroleum oils" and "Vehicle parts and accessories", with drops of 23.9% and 17.6%, respectively, and an absolute decrease of 18.7 million for the former and 12.2 million for the latter. However, the biggest downturn (-50.1%), with 20 million less in exports, corresponded to "Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats".

In Gipuzkoa, only one of the top ten export groups posted a decrease, "Railway or tramway vehicle parts", with exports of this product falling by 9 million (-26.5%).

There were considerable rises in exports of "Railway or tramway coaches for passengers, luggage, mail, etc." and "Vehicles for transporting 10 or more people, including the driver", with 34 and 21.4 million more in exports, respectively, representing growth of 141.4% and 128%. Likewise, "Fishing vessels and factory ships for processing marine products" also saw significant growth, with exports worth 79.7 million in June 2025. This increase is explained by the fact that no export operations were recorded in the same period of the previous year.

Looking at imports, we can see that acquisitions of "Refined petroleum oils" (106.4%) doubled, meaning that, with 263.9 million in imports, this group accounted for 11.5% of all products imported. By contrast, the subsequent group in terms of size, "Petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals", registered a decrease of 56.0% (155.7 million in imports). In addition to the above, another five of the top ten groups recorded a decrease in import value: "Vehicle parts and accessories" (-2.5%), "Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats" (-11.9%), "Other preparations and products of the chemical and allied industries" (-29.4%), "Flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, of a width of 600 mm or more, hot-rolled, not clad, plated or coated" (-28.4%) and "Mixtures of odoriferous substances used in the food and beverage industries" (-26.9%).

On the other hand, some groups saw a rise imports, including, in addition to the aforementioned "Refined petroleum oils", "Internal combustion engines, diesel or semi-diesel" (10.2%), "Remelting scrap ingots of iron or steel" (9.3%) and "Electric accumulators and parts thereof" (17.2%).

Source/destination countries, June 2025

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

- Germany: received products from the Basque Country worth 437.4 million euros, with a coverage rate of 112.7%.

- France: 382.8 million euros’ worth of goods were exported to this country, with a coverage rate of 200.3%.

- United Kingdom: exports amounted to 194.8 million euros, with a coverage rate of 115.8%.

- Italy: where 157.7 million euros’ worth of Basque exports were sent, achieving a coverage rate of 136.0%.

- United States: sales to this country reached 151.3 million, with a coverage rate of 148.9%.

Except in the case of Germany (4.5% more in exports), the annual variations were negative:    France (-16.3%), the United Kingdom (-6.1%), Italy (-9.8%) and the United States (-9.1%).

These five countries absorbed 48.5% of total exports; three of them belong to the EU27, which accounted for 62.0% of exports.

In the cumulative of the first six months of 2025 exports have fallen by 0.7%, but the positive trade balance has been maintained, exceeding EUR 2,113 million

For the first six months as a whole, and for exports from the Basque Country, a slight drop of 0.7% was registered in respect of the same period of the previous year, which represented a decrease of 109.5 million euros. The total amount of exports in this period was 15,716.9 million euros.

Bizkaia exports were the largest in the Basque Country, with a total of 5,526.4 million euros, Gipuzkoa accounted for 5,242.8 million and Álava 4,947.7 million.

In terms of the type of product, in the Basque Country as whole, exports of "Non-energy products" were the most numerous, with 15,049.8 million euros, 2.3% more than in the first six months of 2024. This growth was uneven; while exports from Bizkaia fell by 4.8%, those from Álava and Gipuzkoa were up 8.1% and 4.2% on the previous year, respectively. By contrast, exports of "Energy products" saw a downturn of 40.0% in the Basque Country as a whole in the year-on-year comparison.

The leading export group was "Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats", with 1,728 million traded and a rise of 39.2%. Among the 25 main customs duty groups, the greatest increases in exports (of over 100%) were seen in "Railway or tramway coaches for passengers, luggage, mail, etc." (229.9 million in exports, up 135.3%), followed by "Soya-bean oil" (119.4 million in exports, up 119.5%) and "Railway or tramway vehicle parts" (112.1%, with 279.5 million in exports and 147.7 million more than in the same period of the previous year). Other significant rises were recorded for "Turbo-reactors, turbo-propellers and other gas turbines, and their parts and components" (44.7 million more) and "Taps, valves and similar appliances for pipes" (37.9 million more).

In contrast, four of the twenty-five main groups posted decreases, ranging from 4.2% for "Goods transport vehicles" and 35.4% for "Refined petroleum oils".

The export ranking for the first six months of 2025 placed Germany as the leading recipient of Basque exports, with 14.9% of total exports, amounting to 2,344.3 million euros. Just behind Germany was France, with 2,342.1 million and, once again, 14.9% of the total. They were followed by the United Kingdom (6.5%) and the United States (6.0%). Between them, these four countries accounted for 42.3% of Basque exports.

Cumulative imports for the Basque Country as a whole totalled approximately 13,603 million euros. The year-on-year comparison of this figure revealed that it was 216.4 million euros down on the equivalent for the same period of the previous year. This decrease was due to the fact that in this period Bizkaia (with cumulative imports of 7,228 million euros) registered a downturn of 11.1%, that is, 906 million euros less than in the first six months of 2024. Meanwhile, imports rose in Álava, up 511.8 million (17.2%) for a total of 3,493 million, as well as in Gipuzkoa (up 177.7 million, 6.6%), with a total of 2,882 million.

Imports of "Non-energy products" were up 7.6%, but those of "Energy products" were down 25.4 %.

Foreign trade of goods in the Basque Country from January to June 2025 had a positive balance of 2,113 million euros and the coverage rate reached 115.5%.

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