German exports were down 3.6% and imports dropped 6.6% on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis compared with April 2024. Based on provisional data, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that exports decreased by 1.6% and imports fell by 8.7% compared with May 2023.
After calendar and seasonal adjustment, Germany exported goods to the total value of 131.6 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 106.7 billion euros in May 2024. The foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 24.9 billion euros in May 2024. The calendar and seasonally adjusted surplus stood at 22.2 billion euros in April 2024 and 16.8 billion euros in May 2023.
Trade with EU countries
On a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis, Germany exported goods to the value of 72.3 billion euros to the Member States of the European Union (EU) in May 2024, while it imported goods to the value of 55.7 billion euros from these countries in the same period. Compared with April 2024, calendar and seasonally adjusted exports to the EU countries dropped by 2.5% and imports from these countries fell by 8.9%. The value of the goods exported to euro area countries in May 2024 totalled 50.2 billion euros (-2.7%), and the value of the goods imported from these countries was 37.0 billion euros (-8.6%). In May 2024, goods to the value of 22.1 billion euros (-2.0%) were exported to EU countries not belonging to the euro area, while the value of the goods imported from these countries was 18.7 billion euros (-9.6%), on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis.
Trade with non-EU countries
Exports of goods to countries outside the EU (third countries) amounted to 59.4 billion euros in May 2024, while imports from these countries totalled 51.0 billion euros, on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis. Compared with April 2024, exports to third countries declined by 4.9% and imports from those countries dropped by 4.0%.
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Most German exports in May 2024 went to the United States. After seasonal and calendar adjustment, exports of goods to the United States were down 2.9% compared with April 2024, with the value of exports to the United States dropping to 13.8 billion euros. Exports to the People's Republic of China decreased by 10.2% to 7.6 billion euros, and exports to the United Kingdom fell by 11.7% to 6.5 billion euros.
Most imports in May 2024 came from the People's Republic of China. Goods to the value of 13.0 billion euros were imported from there, which represented a 1.7% increase compared with the previous month, after calendar and seasonal adjustment. Imports from the United States rose by 4.6% to 7.9 billion euros. Imports from the United Kingdom dropped by 9.3% to 2.7 billion euros during the same period.
Exports to the Russian Federation declined a calendar and seasonally adjusted 19.3% to 0.6 billion euros in May 2024 compared with April 2024. Compared with May 2023, when exports to Russia had already decreased sharply as a result of the Russian attack on Ukraine, exports fell by 22.1%. Imports from Russia dropped by 8.0% to 0.2 billion euros in May 2024 from April 2024, and were down 35.7% compared with May 2023.
More information:
Destasis
www.destatis.de