An annual general report by the Italian National Institute of Statistics and the Italian Trade Agency showed that the value of Italian-Libyan trade exchanges in the initial third of this year exceeded 1.7 billion euros, marking an increase of 87.9%.
The Italian Nova news agency quoted a recent report by the Italian Export Credit Agency, that exports of Italian products to Libya are set to increase by a further 27.2% in 2021, having recorded a decrease of 29.3% in 2020.
Nova indicated that crude oil topped Italian imports from Libya with 83%, followed by natural gas at 14% and to a lesser extent, products derived from the process of oil refining, chemical products, fertilizers and nitrogen compounds.
It went on to say that the proportion of Italian imports from Libya rises during periods of crisis, particularly since Eni’s factories have hardly ceased production, noting that the Italian net foreign direct investment in Libya amounted to almost 356 million euros in 2020, while the net Libyan foreign direct investment in Italy amounted to 155 million euros.
