The EU recorded a €257 billion trade surplus in chemicals and related products in 2025 after exporting €605 billion and importing €348 billion.
Exports of chemicals and related products to countries outside the EU rose 7% from €563 billion in 2024 to €605 billion in 2025, while imports increased by the same rate from €324 billion to €348 billion, Eurostat reported on Thursday.
Since 2015, both imports and exports have grown by an average of 6% a year, with imports up €145 billion over the decade and exports up €273 billion.
In production terms, the EU sold €836 billion worth of chemicals and related products in 2025, up from €680 billion in 2015, with average annual growth of 2%.
Germany and Ireland led extra-EU exports
Germany was the biggest EU exporter of chemicals and related products to non-EU countries in 2025 at €130 billion, followed by Ireland (€115 billion), Belgium (€60 billion), Italy (€56 billion) and France (€54 billion), according to Eurostat.
The largest destinations outside the EU were the United States (€206 billion), Switzerland (€76 billion), the United Kingdom (€48 billion), China (€32 billion) and Turkey (€17 billion).
On the import side, Germany was also the largest importer from outside the EU at €58 billion in 2025, ahead of Italy (€48 billion), Belgium (€46 billion), the Netherlands (€44 billion) and Slovenia (€30 billion).
