German exports up by 6.9% in the first half this year

In the first half of 2008 Germany’s exports increased by 6.9% as compared to last year and totalled 511.2 billion Euros. After adjustment for price exports increased by 6.8%. The increase was particularly strong for exports to the BRIC-countries. Thus, exports to Brazil grew by 28.8% to 4.1 billion Euros, those to Russia by 23.4% to 15.8 billion Euros. India bought goods to the value of 4.1 billion Euros (+22.5%) from Germany and China’s purchases totalled 16.8 billion Euros (+20.6%).

Exports to EU member states grew by 5.0% to 330.1 billion Euros which means that those increased less than German exports as a whole. To the Eurozone, which since the beginning 2008 also comprises Malta and Cyprus, Germany exported goods to the value of 218.6 billion Euros (+3.9%) and to those countries which are part of the EU but not Eurozone to the value of 111.5 billion Euros (+7.3%).

German exports to third-party countries outside the EU increased by 10.4% to 181.1 billion Euros.

With regard to exports to within the EU, most important was the growth in exports to the new member states Bulgaria and Romania (by +27.8% to 1.4 billion Euros and 27.2% to 4.4 billion Euros respectively in the first half this year as compared to the first six months last year). However, there were also two-digit growth rates for exports to Poland and the Czech Republic (+18.2% to 20.2 billion Euros and +13.0% to 14.4 billion Euros respectively).

Exports to the USA grew only slightly by 2.5% to 36.8 billion Euros while those to Japan remained virtually unchanged (+ 0.7% to 6.5 billion Euros).

Imports to Germany, on the other hand, grew by 7.1% to 407.6 billion Euros in nominal terms in the first half this year as compared to the same period last year. Due to strongly increased prices, however, imports increased by just 3.7% after adjustment for inflation. Given that in particular import prices for crude oil and natural gas increased, so did imports from Norway (+29.0% to 11.1 billion Euros) and Russia (+23.6% to 16.8 billion Euros).

Imports from the EU27 grew by 6.2% to 242.4 billion Euros. Only imports from the Netherlands reached a two-digit growth rate (+13.8% to 35.3 billion Euros). Imports from the Eurozone were up by 5.5% to 161.5 billion Euros and those from EU countries outside the Eurozone by 7.6% to 81.0 billion Euros.

With regard to the new EU member states imports from Poland grew by +14.1% to 13.1 billion Euros, from Romania by +12.6% to 2.3 billion Euros, from Lithuania by +12.6% to 0.6 billion Euros, from Slovakia by +12.1% to 4.7 billion Euros and by +12.0% to 14.4 billion Euros from the Czech Republic.

Imports from third-party countries increased by 8.4% to 165.2 billion Euros with those from China growing by 6.5% to 26.8 billion Euros. Imports from the USA, on the other hand, were down by -3.2% to 22.6 billion Euros and those from Japan fell by -3.2% to 11.7 billion Euros. GERMAN

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