2023-08-11 17:55:46
The times when Germany was the world export champion are long gone. Contrary to all prophecies of doom, goods “made in Germany” are still in demand. In the first six months of the year, German companies exported 3.3 percent more than in the same period last year, the Federal Statistical Office announced on Friday.
The trade surplus – i.e. exports minus imports – was almost 100 billion euros. It was more than twice as high as in the same period of the previous year and higher than the entire surplus in 2022. Last year, the surplus, which is important for economic growth, fell to 80 billion euros, mainly because of expensive energy imports, which was the lowest value since turn of the millennium.
Auto industry leads German trade statistics
The German car industry, which is currently warning of dangers for Germany as a business location and sees itself at a disadvantage compared to its competitors abroad due to high taxes and far-reaching regulation, is at the top of the German trade statistics. In the first half of the year, the companies sold motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts abroad with a value of 136.5 billion euros, the statisticians said.
Compared to the first half of 2022, these exports increased by 15.9 percent. In the second important branch of industry, mechanical engineering, exports also grew in the first half of the year by 11 percent compared to the previous year to 112.4 billion euros.
The fact that the trade surplus is so much larger than in the previous year is not only due to stronger exports, but also to declining imports. Goods worth 699.1 billion euros were imported into Germany in the first six months of 2023. That was 4.3 percent less than in the previous year.
The most important buyers of German products are the United States. Goods worth 78.0 billion euros crossed the Atlantic in the six months. “France (EUR 60.5 billion) and the Netherlands (EUR 57.7 billion) came in second and third place among Germany’s most important export countries,” the statisticians said.
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Most imports that come to Germany come from China. They had a total value of 79.3 billion euros in the first six months. Last year, the People’s Republic was Germany’s most important trading partner overall. The Netherlands with its large ports (54.0 billion euros) and the United States (47.5 billion euros) came in second and third place among the most important German supplier countries. Germany generates the largest export surpluses with the United States (30.5 billion euros), France (24.7 billion euros) and the United Kingdom (19.7 billion euros).
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