Press release No. 039 of 7 February 2020
Exports, December 2019
98.0 billion euros
+0.1% on the previous month (calendar and seasonally adjusted)
+2.3% on the same month a year earlier
2019
1,327.6 billion euros
+0.8% on the previous year
Imports, December 2019
82.8 billion euros
-0.7% on the previous month (calendar and seasonally adjusted)
+1.2% on the same month a year earlier
2019
1,104.1 billion euros
+1.4% on the previous year
Foreign trade balance, December 2019:
15.2 billion euros
19.2 billion euros (calendar and seasonally adjusted)
2019:
223.6 billion euros
Current account according to calculations of the Deutsche Bundesbank, December 2019
29.4 billion euros
2019
266.2 billion euros
WIESBADEN – In 2019, German exports and imports exceeded the former record highs of 2018. However, foreign trade growth slowed in comparison with previous years: in 2019, Germany exported goods to the value of 1,327.6 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 1,104.1 billion euros. Based on provisional data, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that exports were up 0.8% from 2018. Imports rose by 1.4%. In 2018, exports increased by 3.0% and imports by 5.6% compared with the previous year. In 2017, exports were 6.2% and imports 8.0% higher than a year earlier.
The foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 223.6 billion euros in 2019. In 2018, the surplus of the foreign trade balance was 228.7 billion euros.
According to provisional results of the Deutsche Bundesbank, the current account of the balance of payments showed a surplus of 266.2 billion euros in 2019, which takes into account the balances of trade in goods including supplementary trade items (+237.5 billion euros), services (-21.7 billion euros), primary income (+97.8 billion euros) and secondary income (-47.4 billion euros). In 2018, the current account showed a surplus of 246.0 billion euros.
In 2019, Germany exported goods to the value of 777.3 billion euros to the Member States of the European Union (EU), while it imported goods to the value of 631.3 billion euros from those countries. Compared with 2018, exports to the EU countries fell by 0.2%, and imports from EU countries rose by 1.3%. Goods to the value of 491.8 billion euros (-0.1%) were dispatched to the Euro area countries in 2019, while the value of the goods received from those countries was 409.1 billion euros (+0.8%). In 2019, goods to the value of 285.5 billion euros (-0.4%) were exported to EU countries not belonging to the Euro area, and the value of the goods imported from those countries was 222.3 billion euros (+2.1%).
Exports of goods to countries outside the EU (third countries) amounted to 550.3 billion euros in 2019, while imports from those countries totalled 472.8 billion euros. Compared with 2018, exports to third countries increased by 2.2% and imports from those countries by 1.6%.
In December 2019, Germany exported goods to the value of 98.0 billion euros (+2.3% compared with December 2018) and imported goods to the value of 82.8 billion euros (+1.2%).
After calendar and seasonal adjustment, exports were up by 0.1% and imports down by 0.7% from November 2019.
| Item | December | January to December | November | December | January to December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2018 | ||||
| 1 According to calculations of the Deutsche Bundesbank. | |||||
| Foreign trade | |||||
| 1 Exports (f.o.b.) | 98.0 | 1,327.6 | 113.1 | 95.8 | 1,317.4 |
| 2 Imports (c.i.f.) | 82.8 | 1,104.1 | 94.5 | 81.8 | 1,088.7 |
| 3 Foreign trade balance (1-2) | 15.2 | 223.6 | 18.6 | 14.1 | 228.7 |
| Transition to trade in goods 1 | |||||
| 4 Supplementary trade items | 0.9 | 13.9 | -0.6 | -0.9 | -6.0 |
| Current account balances 1 | |||||
| 5 Trade in goods (3+4) | 16.1 | 237.5 | 18.0 | 13.1 | 222.7 |
| 6 Services | 2.2 | -21.7 | 0.3 | 1.3 | -20.7 |
| 7 Primary income | 15.3 | 97.8 | 9.3 | 14.4 | 91.7 |
| 8 Secondary income | -4.2 | -47.4 | -3.5 | -6.4 | -47.6 |
| Current account (5+6+7+8) | 29.4 | 266.2 | 24.1 | 22.3 | 246.0 |
| Item | December 2019 | January to December 2019 | Percentage change from | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2018 | January to December 2018 | |||
| billion euro | % | |||
| Total exports | 98.0 | 1,327.6 | 2.3 | 0.8 |
| including: | ||||
| EU Member States | 54.4 | 777.3 | -1.5 | -0.2 |
| Euro-zone | 34.6 | 491.8 | -2.0 | -0.1 |
| Non-euro-zone | 19.8 | 285.5 | -0.5 | -0.4 |
| Third countries | 43.6 | 550.3 | 7.3 | 2.2 |
| Total imports | 82.8 | 1,104.1 | 1.2 | 1.4 |
| including: | ||||
| EU Member States | 46.5 | 631.3 | -2.0 | 1.3 |
| Euro-zone | 29.9 | 409.1 | -4.9 | 0.8 |
| Non-euro-zone | 16.5 | 222.3 | 3.7 | 2.1 |
| Third countries | 36.3 | 472.8 | 5.7 | 1.6 |
| Year | Month | Exports | Imports | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| original value | calendar and seasonally adjusted value 1 | original value | calendar and seasonally adjusted value 1 | ||||||
| value in billion euros | change on the same month of the previous year in % | value in billion euros | change on previous month in % | value in billion euros | change on the same month of the previous year in % | value in billion euros | change on previous month in % | ||
| 1 Using J-DEMETRA+ (X-13 ARIMA). | |||||||||
| 2018 | January | 107.1 | 8.4 | 110.2 | -0.3 | 89.5 | 7.0 | 89.0 | -0.2 |
| February | 104.7 | 2.3 | 107.9 | -2.1 | 86.1 | 4.8 | 88.2 | -1.0 | |
| March | 116.1 | -1.7 | 109.2 | 1.1 | 91.1 | -1.9 | 87.4 | -0.9 | |
| April | 110.3 | 9.5 | 109.7 | 0.5 | 89.9 | 8.6 | 89.9 | 2.8 | |
| May | 109.1 | -1.3 | 111.0 | 1.2 | 89.0 | 0.7 | 90.4 | 0.6 | |
| June | 115.3 | 7.6 | 110.9 | -0.1 | 93.4 | 10.1 | 91.2 | 0.9 | |
| July | 111.0 | 7.6 | 110.3 | -0.6 | 94.6 | 12.5 | 94.0 | 3.0 | |
| August | 105.4 | 2.4 | 110.7 | 0.4 | 87.7 | 6.1 | 92.1 | -2.0 | |
| September | 109.1 | -1.1 | 109.9 | -0.7 | 91.0 | 5.7 | 92.2 | 0.1 | |
| October | 117.3 | 8.6 | 110.8 | 0.8 | 98.5 | 10.9 | 92.9 | 0.8 | |
| November | 116.3 | 0.0 | 110.7 | -0.0 | 96.1 | 4.0 | 92.0 | -0.9 | |
| December | 95.8 | -4.7 | 111.9 | 1.1 | 81.8 | -0.4 | 92.4 | 0.4 | |
| 2019 | January | 108.8 | 1.6 | 112.0 | 0.1 | 94.3 | 5.3 | 93.6 | 1.2 |
| February | 108.9 | 4.0 | 110.9 | -0.9 | 91.1 | 5.8 | 92.6 | -1.1 | |
| March | 118.2 | 1.8 | 112.4 | 1.3 | 95.9 | 5.3 | 92.8 | 0.3 | |
| April | 110.0 | -0.3 | 109.4 | -2.6 | 92.2 | 2.5 | 92.1 | -0.7 | |
| May | 114.2 | 4.7 | 110.4 | 0.9 | 93.6 | 5.1 | 91.8 | -0.3 | |
| June | 106.1 | -8.0 | 110.6 | 0.2 | 89.5 | -4.1 | 92.4 | 0.6 | |
| July | 115.0 | 3.6 | 110.8 | 0.1 | 93.7 | -1.0 | 91.2 | -1.3 | |
| August | 101.6 | -3.6 | 110.0 | -0.7 | 85.2 | -2.9 | 91.3 | 0.1 | |
| September | 114.1 | 4.6 | 111.6 | 1.4 | 93.0 | 2.2 | 92.4 | 1.2 | |
| October | 119.7 | 2.1 | 113.2 | 1.5 | 98.4 | -0.1 | 92.8 | 0.4 | |
| November | 113.1 | -2.8 | 110.8 | -2.2 | 94.5 | -1.7 | 92.3 | -0.6 | |
| December | 98.0 | 2.3 | 110.9 | 0.1 | 82.8 | 1.2 | 91.7 | -0.7 | |
First detailed provisional results (only in german) by country of origin/country of destination and by chapter of the Commodity Classification for Foreign Trade Statistics as well as a comparative table (only in german) based on the country of origin/country of consignment concepts are available for downloading.
