In May 2026, Italy purchased unprocessed palladium, as well as palladium in powder form, from Russia for 50.1 million euros. This is 2.5 times more than in May 2025, according to Eurostat data.
From January to May of this year, Russia supplied palladium to Italy worth 230.5 million euros, which is 1.9 times more than in the same period of 2025. In addition to Russia, in May, Italians purchased platinum group metals from South Korea (for 3.3 million euros), the UK (1.6 million euros), South Africa (814 thousand euros), Switzerland (434 thousand euros), China (83 thousand euros), and Egypt (20 thousand euros).
Russia ranks first in the world in terms of palladium reserves (46% of the global total). The country's reserves of all platinum group metals are estimated at 16 thousand tons, of which about 70% is palladium.
Large deposits are located on the Kola Peninsula, in the Krasnoyarsk Krai, and the Chelyabinsk Oblast. Palladium is used in the production of catalysts for engines, multilayer capacitors for phones, laptops, and household appliances, catalysts for oil cracking, and fat hydrogenation.
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