According to the latest figures issued by Italian statistics institute Istat, in March this year the country's export value reached €19.966 billion, down 0.5 percent year on year. Meanwhile, the value of Italy's exports of base metals and metals products in the given month reached €2.963 billion, representing 14.8 percent of the total figure and ranking first among all of product segments. In March, the export value of base metals and metal products increased by 3.2 percent compared to March 2011.
Looking at the first quarter of the year, Italy's total export value rose by 2.3 percent year on year to €53.876 billion. In January-March, base metals and metal products again accounted for the largest share of the total with €7.898 billion or 14.7 percent of the overall figure, recording a 5.2 percent increase year on year.