Germany’s exports experienced another decline in 2024, partially due to a decrease in demand from China.

The Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis) released the country’s foreign trade data for December 2024. According to the data, seasonally and calendar-adjusted exports in December 2024 increased by 2.9% compared to the previous month, reaching 131.7 billion euros. Market expectations were that exports would decrease by 0.6% in December. Meanwhile, imports in December increased by 2.1% to 111.1 billion euros. As a result, Germany’s seasonally and calendar-adjusted foreign trade surplus amounted to 20.7 billion euros. In December 2023, this surplus had stood at 21.1 billion euros. Of the 72.4 billion euros worth of exports in December, a portion was destined for European Union (EU) countries. Similarly, 57 billion euros of imports came from EU countries. Compared to November, exports to EU countries rose by 5.9%, while imports from these countries increased by 3.6%. According to Destatis, despite a 3.5% decrease from November 2024, Germany’s exports were highest to the United States. Exports to China increased by 1.4% to 6.7 billion euros, while exports to the United Kingdom decreased by 6.6% to 6.7 billion euros.

IMPORTS FROM TURKEY ON THE RISE Germany’s exports to Turkey decreased by 5.1% in December compared to the same month the previous year, reaching 2.068 billion euros, while imports from Turkey increased by 4.2% to 1.798 billion euros.