The negative economic trend is threatening the already fragile Italian economy, the newspaper wrote.
“Italian companies that exported to Russia for decades are losing about eight million euros a day because we are lacking exports. We have lost about a total of two billion euros from exports," Ernesto Ferlenghi, president of the General Confederation of Italian Industry said.
Ferlenghi warns that this dangerous development can turn out to be a long one.
"Unfortunately, the figures confirm the 2014 trend," he said.
Italian enterprises are trying to maintain their presence in the Russian market in other forms.
"We want to keep our previous market share by means of a new strategy, by means of the construction of joint ventures and […] the exchange of know-how."
Ferlenghi pointed out that German (and other European) companies are dramatically affected by the sanctions as well. On Thursday, the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations had announced that German exports to Russia have plummeted by over 30 percent.
Anti-Russian sanctions have also backfired on France, especially its agricultural sector, resulting in recent protests by French farmers.
