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.
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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.
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.
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%.
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. ■