Press Release 20/11/2025

FOREIGN TRADE STATISTICS (ECOMEX). September 2025

Exports of goods from the Basque Country were down 7.9% in September 2025

During the first nine months of 2025, exports declined by 3.6%

In September 2025, exports of goods from the Basque Country recorded a decrease of 7.9% in year-on-year terms, according to Eustat data. They totalled 2,379.2 million euros, compared to 2,582.8 million in the same month of the previous year. Exports of Energy products increased by 64.2%, while those of Non-energy products fell by 10.8%.

This month, there was a positive trade balance in the order of 35 million euros and the coverage rate stood at 101.5%.

Álava was the province that recorded the most negative trend (-31.5%), which affected the Basque Country as a whole. In Bizkaia, exports rose by 6.1%, and in Gipuzkoa they were up 1.4%.

Imports of goods to the Basque Country saw a 0.4% increase, reaching a total of 2,343.9 million euros. Energy imports grew by 0.9%, and non-energy imports were up 0.2%. Imports to Álava fell by 10.4%, while imports to Bizkaia increased by 2.0% and those to Gipuzkoa rose by 8.9%.

Analysis by product (Customs Duty Group)

A more detailed look reveals that the ranking of the 969 export groups was topped by "Vehicle parts and accessories", with 170.1 million traded and a decrease of 21.8% in respect of the same month of the previous year, followed by "Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats" (163.0 million and a drop of 50.5%), "Refined petroleum oils" (161.2 million in exports, up 315.9%), "Goods transport vehicles" (72.0 million, down 48.8%) and, in fifth place, "Iron or non-alloy steel sections", with 58.7 million and, in this case, a decrease of 12.9%. These five groups accounted for 26.3% of total sales in September, with a combined value of 625.1 million euros.

Of particular note among the 25 largest customs duty groups were the year-on-year increases in exports of "Electric transformers, static converters and inductors" (81.9%), "Vehicles for transporting 10 or more people, including the driver" (181.3%), "Railway or tramway coaches for passengers, luggage, mail, etc." (365.4%) and "Soya-bean oil" (316.9%).

Also worth highlighting, but in the opposite direction, is the decline in exports of "New rubber tyres", with 48.6 million in exports and 28.7 million less than the previous year, representing a drop of 37.2%.

In Álava, the three main export groups registered year-on-year decreases of over 30%, namely "Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats" (-54.2%), "Goods transport vehicles" (-49.3%) and "Vehicle parts and accessories" (-31.0%). Also of note was the drop in exports of "New rubber tyres" (-65.1%) and the increase in exports of "Nickel tubes, pipes and tube or pipe fittings (for example, couplings, elbows, sleeves)" (209.7%).

Compared to September of the previous year, the customs duty groups included in the vehicle sector saw a decline of 283.6 million, with exports falling from 547.0 million to 263.5 million, a decrease of 51.8%.

In Bizkaia, of particular note among the top ten groups were the rises in exports of "Refined petroleum oils" (158.4 million in exports, 122.3 million more than the previous year, representing an increase of 338.1%), "Electric transformers, static converters and inductors" (26.9 million in exports, up 55.9%) and "Soya-bean oil" (21.3 million in exports, up 316.9%). By contrast, there was a decrease in sales of "Vehicle parts and accessories" (67.1 million in exports, 24.4 million less than the previous year, a drop of 26.7%).

In Gipuzkoa, there were considerable increases in exports of "Vehicles for transporting 10 or more people, including the driver" (165.8%), with 34.4 million in exports, "Railway or tramway coaches for passengers, luggage, mail, etc." (365.4%), with 32.7 million in exports, and "Electric transformers, static converters and inductors" (169.8%), with 18.2 million in exports. On the other hand, there was a downturn in sales of "Vehicle parts and accessories" (7.4 million euros less than in September 2024, -9.8%) and "Iron or non-alloy steel sections" (55.6 million in exports, down 14.4%).

Imports of "Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats" grew by 49.7%, while those of "Vehicle parts and accessories" fell by 55.6%

An analysis of imports by customs duty group reveals that the third most significant group, "Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats", representing 1.9% of the total, registered an increase of 49.7%. There was also a sharp upturn in imports of "Biodiesel and mixtures thereof, not containing or containing less than 70% by weight of petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals" (143.5%), which rose from 14.5 to 35.3 million, and "Telephone sets and other apparatus for the transmission or reception of voice, images or other data" (341.7%). In contrast, there was a significant decrease in imports of "Vehicle parts and accessories" (-55.6%), which fell from 92.0 to 40.9 million, and "Internal combustion engines, diesel or semi-diesel" (-58.9%, from 64.7 to 26.6 million).

Source/destination countries, September 2025

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

- France: received products from the Basque Country worth 366.4 million euros, with a coverage rate of 186.0%.

- Germany: 352.7 million euros’ worth of goods were exported to this country, with a coverage rate of 108.6%.

- Italy: exports amounted to 163.3 million euros, with a coverage rate of 125.1%.

- United Kingdom: where 148.2 million euros’ worth of exports were sent, achieving a coverage rate of 222.7%.

- Netherlands: sales to this country reached 139.7 million, with a coverage rate of 109.2%.

These five countries absorbed 49.2% of total exports; four of them belong to the EU27, which accounted for 65.9% of exports.

This month, imports primarily came from, in order: Germany (324.9 million), France (197.0 million), China (190.9 million), Italy (130.6 million) and the Netherlands (128.0 million).

In the first nine months of 2025, there was a positive trade balance of 2,220.4 million euros, with a coverage rate of 111.1%

For the first nine months as a whole, and for exports from the Basque Country, a drop of 3.6% was registered in respect of the same period of the previous year, which represented a decrease of 823.8 million euros. The total amount of exports in this period was 22,258.9 million euros.

Bizkaia exports were the largest in the Basque Country, with a total of 7,999.8 million euros, Gipuzkoa accounted for 7,586.2 million and Álava 6,672.9 million. Exports from Bizkaia registered a decrease of 11.5%, while those from Álava and Gipuzkoa were up 0.7% and 2.3%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

In terms of the type of product, in the Basque Country as whole, exports of "Non-energy products" were the most numerous, with 21,297.6 million euros, 0.8% less than in the first nine months of 2024. This mild decrease was uneven; non-energy exports from Bizkaia fell by 5.3%, while those from Álava and Gipuzkoa were up 0.6% and 2.3% on the previous year, respectively. Exports of "Energy products" saw a downturn of 40.1% in the year-on-year comparison.

The leading export group was "Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats", with 2,246.8 million traded and a rise of 21.0%. Among the 25 main customs duty groups, the greatest increases in exports were seen in "Railway or tramway coaches for passengers, luggage, mail, etc." (314.4 million in exports, up 109.5%), followed by "Railway or tramway vehicle parts" (359.6 million in exports and a difference of 78.0%) and "Soya-bean oil", with 176.9 million in exports and 111.4 million more than in the same period of the previous year.

In contrast, three of the main groups posted decreases: "Refined petroleum oils" (-22.5% and 242.7 million less), "New rubber tyres" (-32.0% and 253.7 million less) and "Vehicle parts and accessories" (-15.1% and 268.0 million less).

The export ranking for the first nine months of 2025 placed Germany as the leading recipient of Basque exports, with 14.9% of total exports, amounting to 3,325.5 million euros. Just behind Germany was France, with 3,296.1 million (14.8% of the total). They were followed by the United Kingdom (1,445.9 million and 6.5%), Italy (1,352.8 million and 6.1%) and the United States (1,323.4 million and 5.9%). Between them, these five countries accounted for 48.3% of Basque exports.

Cumulative imports for the Basque Country as a whole totalled approximately 20,038.5 million euros. The year-on-year comparison of this figure revealed that it was 355.2 million euros and 1.7% down on the equivalent for the same period of the previous year. This difference was due to the fact that Bizkaia (10,776.8 million) saw a 9.3% drop in purchases (-1,103.6 million). Meanwhile, imports rose in Álava, up 545.5 million for a total of 5,016.4 million, as well as in Gipuzkoa (up 202.8 million), with a total of 4,245.3 million.

Imports of "Non-energy products" were up 5.6%, but those of "Energy products" were down 21.9%.

Foreign trade of goods in the Basque Country from January to September 2025 had a positive balance of 2,220.4 million euros and the coverage rate reached 111.1%.

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