German exports fall – exports to Russia slumped

As soon as the German export figures were able to recover from the corona crisis last year, goods exports collapsed again. There are numerous reasons for this.

The economic consequences of the Ukraine war left their first mark on the German export balance in March. Although exports of goods increased compared to the same month of the previous year, they fell by 3.3 percent on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis compared to the previous month of February, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Wednesday in Wiesbaden.

Exports to Russia fell by 62.3 percent to 0.9 billion euros within a month due to sanctions and other measures to restrict exports. Imports from the Russian Federation decreased by only 2.4 percent to 3.6 billion euros. Russia supplies mainly raw materials and energy.

In total, Germany exported goods worth 120.6 billion euros in March 2022, adjusted for calendar and seasonality. That was 8.1 percent more than a year earlier. Imports increased by 20.3 percent to 117.4 billion euros.

Last year, Germany’s exporters more than made up for the slump in the corona crisis with a record result. This year, the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine and the sanctions threaten to cause the German export engine to stutter.

In addition to direct losses in business with Russia and Ukraine, according to economists, an aggravation of supply bottlenecks and the shortage of intermediate products should have a braking effect. In addition, the corona lockdowns in China are taking a toll.