In April 2023, German exports were up 1.2% and imports were down 1.7% on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis compared with March 2023.
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Based on provisional data, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that exports increased by 1.5% from April 2022, while imports fell by 10.3% year on year.
After calendar and seasonal adjustment, Germany exported goods to the total value of 130.4 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 112.0 billion euros in April 2023. The foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 18.4 billion euros in April 2023.
The calendar and seasonally adjusted surplus stood at 14.9 billion euros in March 2023 and 3.6 billion euros in April 2022.
On a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis, Germany exported goods to the value of 71.4 billion euros to the Member States of the European Union (EU) in April 2023, while it imported goods to the value of 59.1 billion euros from these countries in the same period.
Compared with March 2023, calendar and seasonally adjusted exports to EU countries rose by 4.5%, while imports from these countries fell by 0.4%.
The value of the goods exported to euro area countries totalled 49.9 billion euros (+4.4%) in April 2023, and the value of the goods imported from these countries was 38.9 billion euros (-1.7%).
In April 2023, goods to the value of 21.4 billion euros (+4.8%) were exported to EU countries not belonging to the euro area, while the value of the goods imported from these countries was 20.1 billion euros (+2.1%), on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis.
Exports of goods to countries outside the EU (third countries) amounted to 59.0 billion euros in April 2023, while imports from these countries totalled 52.9 billion euros, on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis.
Compared with March 2023, exports to third countries declined by 2.4% and imports from third countries fell by 3.0%.
Most German exports in April 2023 went to the United States. After seasonal and calendar adjustment, exports of goods to the United States were up 4.7% compared with March 2023, with the value of exports to the United States rising to 13.1 billion euros.
Exports to the People's Republic of China increased by 10.1% to 8.5 billion euros, while exports to the United Kingdom fell by 5.2% to 6.1 billion euros.
Most imports in April 2023 came from the People's Republic of China.
Goods to the value of 12.9 billion euros were imported from there, which represented a 1.9% increase compared with the previous month, after calendar and seasonal adjustment.
Imports from the United States rose by 2.9% to 8.0 billion euros. Imports from the United Kingdom dropped by 6.4% to 2.8 billion euros during the same period.
Exports to the Russian Federation declined a calendar and seasonally adjusted 17.8% to 0.7 billion euros in April 2023 compared with March 2023.
Compared with April 2022, when exports to Russia decreased dramatically as a result of the Russian attack on Ukraine, exports fell by 4.6%. Imports from Russia fell by 7.6% to 0.3 billion euros in April 2023 from March 2023, and were down 91.5% compared with April 2022.
Germany exported goods to the value of 121.9 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 106.7 billion euros on a nominal basis (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects) in April 2023.
Compared with April 2022, exports in April 2023 therefore decreased by 1.8%, and imports fell by 12.4%. The unadjusted foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 15.2 billion euros in April 2023. In April 2022, the surplus was 2.4 billion euros. ■