Germany's exports up 1.2%, imports down 1.7% in April 2023: Destatis

Following calendar and seasonal adjustments, Germany exported goods worth €130.4 billion and imported goods totalling €112 billion in April 2023. The foreign trade balance exhibited a surplus of €18.4 billion in April 2023. The calendar and seasonally adjusted surplus was €14.9 billion in March 2023 and €3.6 billion in April 2022.

On a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis, Germany exported goods amounting to €71.4 billion to the member states of the European Union (EU) in April 2023, while importing goods worth €59.1 billion from these countries during the same period, as per Destatis.

Compared with March 2023, calendar and seasonally adjusted exports to EU countries grew by 4.5 per cent, while imports from these countries contracted by 0.4 per cent. The value of the goods exported to Euro area countries totalled €49.9 billion, marking a 4.4 per cent increase in April 2023, and the value of the goods imported from these countries was €38.9 billion, dropping 1.7 per cent.

In April 2023, goods worth €21.4 billion (up 4.8 per cent) were exported to EU countries outside the Euro area, while goods valued at €20.1 billion (up 2.1 per cent) were imported from these countries on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis.

Exports of goods to countries outside the EU (third countries) totalled €59 billion in April 2023, while imports from these countries came to €52.9 billion, also on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis. Exports to third countries dropped by 2.4 per cent, and imports from third countries fell by 3 per cent compared with March 2023.

The US was the largest recipient of German exports in April 2023. After seasonal and calendar adjustments, exports of goods to the US rose 4.7 per cent compared with March 2023, totalling €13.1 billion. Exports to China surged by 10.1 per cent to €8.5 billion, while exports to the UK declined by 5.2 per cent to €6.1 billion.

The majority of imports in April 2023 originated from China, with goods worth €12.9 billion being imported, marking a 1.9 per cent increase compared with the previous month, following calendar and seasonal adjustments. Imports from the US saw a rise of 2.9 per cent, amounting to €8.0 billion. Imports from the UK dropped by 6.4 per cent to €2.8 billion.

Exports to Russia declined by 17.8 per cent to €0.7 billion in April 2023 compared with March 2023, on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis. Imports from Russia dropped by 7.6 per cent to €0.3 billion in April 2023 compared with March 2023, and plummeted by 91.5 per cent compared with April 2022, which was significantly impacted by the Russian attack on Ukraine.

In April 2023, Germany exported goods valued at €121.9 billion and imported goods worth €106.7 billion on a nominal basis (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects). Compared with April 2022, exports in April 2023 decreased by 1.8 per cent, and imports fell by 12.4 per cent. The unadjusted foreign trade balance showed a surplus of €15.2 billion in April 2023. In April 2022, the surplus was €2.4 billion.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)