Press release No. 173 of 4 May 2023
Exports (calendar and seasonally adjusted exports of goods), March 2023
129.7 billion euros
-5.2% on the previous month
+5.0% on the same month a year earlier
Imports (calendar and seasonally adjusted imports of goods), March 2023
113.0 billion euros
-6.4% on the previous month
-5.5% on the same month a year earlier
Foreign trade balance (calendar and seasonally adjusted), March 2023
+16.7 billion euros
WIESBADEN – In March 2023, German exports were down by 5.2% and imports by 6.4% on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis compared with February 2023. Based on provisional data, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that exports increased by 5.0% from March 2022, while imports fell by 5.5%.
After calendar and seasonal adjustment, Germany exported goods to the total value of 129.7 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 113.0 billion euros in March 2023. The foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 16.7 billion euros in March 2023. The calendar and seasonally adjusted surplus stood at +16.1 billion euros in February 2023 and +4.0 billion euros in March 2022.
Trade with EU countries
On a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis, Germany exported goods to the value of 69.3 billion euros to the Member States of the European Union (EU), while it imported goods to the value of 60.0 billion euros from the same countries in March 2023. Compared with February 2023, calendar and seasonally adjusted exports to the EU countries dropped by 6.2%, with imports from the same countries falling by 4.4%. The value of the goods exported to euro area countries totalled 48.8 billion euros (-6.6%) in March 2023, and the value of the goods imported from these countries was 40.3 billion euros (-3.2%). In March 2023, goods to the value of 20.5 billion euros (-5.3%) were exported to EU countries not belonging to the euro area, while the value of the goods imported from these countries was 19.7 billion euros (-6.7%), on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis.
Trade with non-EU countries
Exports of goods to countries outside the EU (third countries) amounted to 60.4 billion euros in March 2023, while imports from those countries totalled 53.0 billion euros on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis. Compared with February 2023, exports to third countries declined by 4.0% and imports from those countries by 8.6%.
Most German exports were destined for the United States in March 2023, with goods exports down 10.9% on February 2023 after seasonal and calendar adjustment. Exports to the United States thus dropped to 12.5 billion euros. Exports to the People's Republic of China decreased by 9.3% to 7.7 billion euros, while exports to the United Kingdom increased by 1.5% to 6.4 billion euros.
Most imports came from the People's Republic of China in March 2023. Goods to the value of 12.6 billion euros were imported from there, which represented a 7.2% decrease compared with the previous month, after calendar and seasonal adjustment. Imports from the United States rose by 1.4% to 7.8 billion euros. Imports from the United Kingdom dropped by 4.0% to 3.0 billion euros during the same period.
Exports to the Russian Federation increased by a calendar and seasonally adjusted 1.8% to 0.9 billion euros in March 2023 from February 2023. Compared with March 2022, when exports to Russia decreased dramatically as a result of the Russian attack on Ukraine, exports rose by 3.9%. Imports from Russia fell by 0.4% to 0.3 billion euros in March 2023 from February 2023. Compared with March 2022, imports dropped by 92.6%.
Original foreign trade values (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects)
Germany exported goods to the value of 146.7 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 123.4 billion euros on a nominal basis (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects) in March 2023. Compared with March 2022, exports thus increased by 5.0%, and imports decreased by 5.4%, in March 2023. The unadjusted foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 23.3 billion euros in March 2023. In March 2022, the surplus was +9.2 billion euros.
Methodological notes:
The differing comparative periods must be taken into account in all press releases on short-term indicators. Short-term economic monitoring focuses on comparisons of seasonally and calendar adjusted figures with those of the previous month or previous quarter. These reflect short-term economic trends. A comparison with the previous year is intended to offer a long-term comparison of levels and is not subject to seasonal fluctuations. The results of month-on-month, quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year comparisons may differ considerably at present because of the Covid-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine.
The results in this press release are provisional data from monthly foreign trade statistics. As detailed results are not available this early, it is not possible to provide information on the reasons for changes in foreign trade as a whole or in trade with individual countries or groups of countries.
To meet changed user needs, more importance has been attached to calendar and seasonally adjusted results in the press releases on foreign trade statistics since reference month January 2022. Many users draw upon foreign trade statistics for time series comparisons, for instance, to show how exports have developed compared with the previous month or the same month a year earlier. The informational value of such comparisons is limited, as they are based on original values and the seasonal and calendar effects included in them. Calendar and seasonal adjustment removes these effects. Detailed explanations on calendar and seasonal adjustment are included in the “Saisonbereinigung im Außenhandel“ (only in german) methodological paper. When evaluating calendar and seasonally adjusted values, it is important to remember that adjusted values are always “fictitious” calculated values. For this reason, a comparison between adjusted series and unadjusted (nominal) series does not make sense.
More information:
More calendar and seasonally adjusted results of foreign trade statistics are available in the GENESIS-Online database (Tables 51000-0020 and 51000-0021). First detailed provisional results on a nominal basis by country of origin/country of destination and by chapter of the Commodity Classification for Foreign Trade Statistics are available for downloading.
Foreign trade results are available also in the Dashboard Germany (www.dashboard-deutschland.de) (only in german). This data portal of the Federal Statistical Office combines up-to-date indicators from official statistics producers and other data providers on the topics of economy, finance, health and mobility. The portal also contains the Economic Pulse Monitor (Pulsmesser für die Wirtschaft) (only in german) tool, which can be used for real-time monitoring of the economic development.
Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the related sanctions are having an impact on many parts of the economy and society. Relevant data and information are provided on a special webpage (only in german) (www.destatis.de/ukraine).
| Item | March 2023 | January to March 2023 | Percentage change from | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2023 | January to March 2022 | |||
| billion euro | % | |||
| Total exports | 129.7 | 398.2 | -5.2 | 7.4 |
| including: | ||||
| EU Member States | 69.3 | 215.7 | -6.2 | 7.3 |
| Euro-zone | 48.8 | 152.5 | -6.6 | 8.7 |
| Non-euro-zone | 20.5 | 63.1 | -5.3 | 3.9 |
| Third countries | 60.4 | 182.5 | -4.0 | 7.6 |
| including: | ||||
| Russian Federation | 0.9 | 2.8 | 1.8 | -50.1 |
| Total imports | 113.0 | 349.5 | -6.4 | 1.6 |
| including: | ||||
| EU Member States | 60.0 | 182.0 | -4.4 | 5.5 |
| Euro-zone | 40.3 | 122.2 | -3.2 | 1.5 |
| Non-euro-zone | 19.7 | 59.9 | -6.7 | 14.7 |
| Third countries | 53.0 | 167.4 | -8.6 | -2.3 |
| including: | ||||
| Russian Federation | 0.3 | 1.7 | -0.4 | -86.4 |
| Year | Month | Exports | Imports | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| calendar and seasonally adjusted value | original value | calendar and seasonally adjusted value | original value | ||||||
| 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 % | value in billion euros | change on the same month of the previous year in % | ||
2022 | January | 120.3 | 0.0 | 111.7 | 12.9 | 108.2 | -5.0 | 106.3 | 26.1 |
| February | 127.0 | 5.6 | 124.5 | 15.4 | 116.3 | 7.5 | 112.4 | 25.1 | |
| March | 123.5 | -2.8 | 139.7 | 9.2 | 119.5 | 2.8 | 130.5 | 22.8 | |
| April | 128.5 | 4.1 | 124.2 | 10.3 | 124.2 | 3.9 | 121.9 | 26.1 | |
| May | 131.4 | 2.2 | 136.0 | 23.3 | 126.6 | 1.9 | 131.1 | 34.9 | |
| June | 133.8 | 1.8 | 136.6 | 14.7 | 127.4 | 0.6 | 128.6 | 25.1 | |
| July | 131.7 | -1.6 | 128.1 | 10.9 | 128.0 | 0.5 | 123.2 | 26.6 | |
| August | 135.8 | 3.2 | 129.3 | 23.7 | 134.5 | 5.1 | 128.9 | 38.1 | |
| September | 134.5 | -1.0 | 142.3 | 20.3 | 131.9 | -1.9 | 134.4 | 31.7 | |
| October | 135.8 | 1.0 | 135.6 | 11.7 | 129.2 | -2.0 | 130.7 | 20.0 | |
| November | 136.4 | 0.4 | 144.1 | 14.4 | 125.0 | -3.3 | 132.3 | 15.4 | |
| December | 128.2 | -6.1 | 124.6 | 6.5 | 117.1 | -6.3 | 113.9 | 2.9 | |
| 2023 | January | 131.6 | 2.7 | 126.2 | 13.0 | 115.7 | -1.2 | 116.3 | 9.4 |
| February | 136.8 | 4.0 | 132.5 | 6.4 | 120.8 | 4.4 | 115.5 | 2.7 | |
| March | 129.7 | -5.2 | 146.7 | 5.0 | 113.0 | -6.4 | 123.4 | -5.4 | |
