Press release No. 442 of 9 November 2020
Exports, September 2020
109.8 billion euros
+2.3% on the previous month (calendar and seasonally adjusted)
-3.8% on the same month a year earlier
Imports, September 2020
89.0 billion euros
-0.1% on the previous month (calendar and seasonally adjusted)
-4.3% on the same month a year earlier
Foreign trade balance, September 2020
+20.8 billion euros
+17.8 billion euros (calendar and seasonally adjusted)
Current account according to calculations of the Deutsche Bundesbank, September 2020
+26.3 billion euros
WIESBADEN – German exports in September 2020 were up 2.3% and imports were down 0.1% on August 2020, adjusted for calendar and seasonal variations. Based on provisional results, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that, compared with February 2020, the month before restrictions were imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic, exports were down 7.7%, and imports 5.7%, adjusted for calendar and seasonal effects.
Germany exported goods to the value of 109.8 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 89.0 billion euros in September 2020. Compared with September 2019, exports decreased by 3.8%, and imports by 4.3% in September 2020.
The foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 20.8 billion euros in September 2020. In September 2019, the surplus amounted to 21.2 billion euros. In calendar and seasonally adjusted terms, the foreign trade balance recorded a surplus of 17.8 billion euros in September 2020.
The German current account of the balance of payments showed a surplus of 26.3 billion euros in September 2020, which takes into account the balances of trade in goods (+23.2 billion euros), services (-0.8 billion euros), primary income (+7.4 billion euros) and secondary income (-3.4 billion euros). In September 2019, the German current account showed a surplus of 23.5 billion euros.
Trade with EU countries
In September 2020, Germany exported goods to the value of 59.1 billion euros to the Member States of the European Union (EU), while it imported goods to the value of 48.7 billion euros from those countries. Compared with September 2019, exports to the EU countries and imports from those countries each decreased by 3.3%. Goods to the value of 41.1 billion euros (-4.5%) were exported to the euro area countries in September 2020, while the value of the goods imported from those countries was 32.6 billion euros (-4.4%). In September 2020, goods to the value of 18.0 billion euros (-0.4%) were exported to EU countries not belonging to the euro area, while the value of the goods imported from those countries was 16.1 billion euros (-1.1%).
Trade with non-EU countries
Exports of goods to countries outside the European Union (third countries) amounted to 50.7 billion euros in September 2020, while imports from those countries totalled 40.3 billion euros. Compared with September 2019, exports to third countries declined by 4.4% and imports from those countries by 5.4%.
Impact of the coronavirus pandemic on trade with selected countries
The degree to which year-on-year exports were affected depended on the trading partner. Exports to the People's Republic of China increased by 10.6% to 8.5 billion euros in September 2020 year on year. Exports to the United States, which have been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic, dropped by 5.8% to 9.3 billion euros. Compared with the same month last year, exports to the United Kingdom showed a decrease of 12.4% to 6.4 billion euros in September 2020.
In September 2020, most imports came to Germany from the People's Republic of China. Goods to the value of 9.7 billion euros were imported from there, which means that imports from China were up 3.0% compared with September 2019. Imports from the United States also rose by 3.0% to 6.2 billion euros in September 2020. However, German imports from the United Kingdom were down 14.7% to 2.8 billion euros.
Methodological note:
The differing comparative periods must be taken into account in all press releases on short-term indicators. Short-term economic monitoring focuses on comparisons with 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. During the current coronavirus crisis, the strong decreases especially in March/April 2020 and the slowly emerging recovery may produce highly different results for the comparison with the previous month/previous quarter and the comparison with the previous year. Both of the two perspectives are important: what is the short-term economic trend compared with the previous month/previous quarter, and how far has the catching-up process gone compared with the previous year’s level? In order to provide also a direct comparison with the pre-crisis level, all press releases on short-term indicators available in seasonally adjusted form will, for the time being, include a comparison with February 2020 or the 4th quarter of 2019.
| Item | Septemer | January to September | August | September | January to September |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2019 | ||||
| 1 According to calculations of the Deutsche Bundesbank. | |||||
| Foreign trade | |||||
| 1 Exports (f.o.b.) | 109.8 | 880.0 | 91.2 | 114.1 | 997.1 |
| 2 Imports (c.i.f.) | 89.0 | 751.1 | 79.3 | 93.0 | 828.1 |
| 3 Foreign trade balance (1-2) | 20.8 | 128.9 | 11.9 | 21.2 | 169.0 |
| Transition to trade in goods 1 | |||||
| 4 Supplementary trade items | 2.4 | 10.8 | 2.5 | 0.1 | 0.8 |
| Current account balances 1 | |||||
| 5 Trade in goods (3+4) | 23.2 | 139.7 | 14.4 | 21.3 | 169.9 |
| 6 Services | -0.8 | -4.1 | -3.0 | -2.8 | -18.8 |
| 7 Primary income | 7.4 | 63.2 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 61.2 |
| 8 Secondary income | -3.4 | -33.2 | -3.2 | -3.5 | -35.2 |
| Current account (5+6+7+8) | 26.3 | 165.6 | 16.6 | 23.5 | 177.0 |
| Item | September 2020 | January to September 2020 | Percentage change from | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2019 | January to September 2019 | |||
| billion euro | % | |||
| Total exports | 109.8 | 880.0 | -3.8 | -11.7 |
| including: | ||||
| EU Member States | 59.1 | 463.6 | -3.3 | -11.8 |
| Euro-zone | 41.1 | 322.7 | -4.5 | -13.2 |
| Non-euro-zone | 18.0 | 140.9 | -0.4 | -8.4 |
| Third countries | 50.7 | 416.4 | -4.4 | -11.7 |
| including: | ||||
| United Kingdom | 6.4 | 48.8 | -12.4 | -19.4 |
| Total imports | 89.0 | 751.1 | -4.3 | -9.3 |
| including: | ||||
| EU Member States | 48.7 | 398.9 | -3.3 | -10.9 |
| Euro-zone | 32.6 | 273.6 | -4.4 | -11.8 |
| Non-euro-zone | 16.1 | 125.3 | -1.1 | -8.9 |
| Third countries | 40.3 | 352.2 | -5.4 | -7.4 |
| including: | ||||
| United Kingdom | 2.8 | 25.8 | -14.7 | -8.5 |
| Year | Month | Exports | Imports | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| original value | calendar and seasonally adjusted value 1 | original value | calendar and seasonally adjusted value 1 | ||||||
| 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 % | value in billion euros | change on previous month in % | ||
| 1 Using J-DEMETRA+ (X-13 ARIMA). | |||||||||
| 2019 | January | 108.9 | 1.7 | 112.2 | 0.3 | 94.2 | 5.2 | 93.2 | 0.9 |
| February | 108.8 | 3.9 | 110.8 | -1.3 | 91.1 | 5.8 | 92.8 | -0.4 | |
| March | 118.2 | 1.8 | 112.4 | 1.5 | 95.8 | 5.2 | 92.9 | 0.1 | |
| April | 110.0 | -0.3 | 109.7 | -2.4 | 92.1 | 2.5 | 92.1 | -0.9 | |
| May | 114.2 | 4.8 | 110.4 | 0.6 | 93.5 | 5.0 | 92.1 | -0.0 | |
| June | 106.2 | -7.9 | 111.0 | 0.5 | 89.5 | -4.1 | 93.0 | 0.9 | |
| July | 115.0 | 3.6 | 110.8 | -0.1 | 93.7 | -1.0 | 91.7 | -1.3 | |
| August | 101.6 | -3.6 | 110.3 | -0.5 | 85.1 | -3.0 | 91.0 | -0.8 | |
| September | 114.1 | 4.6 | 111.2 | 0.9 | 93.0 | 2.2 | 91.7 | 0.8 | |
| October | 119.8 | 2.1 | 112.7 | 1.3 | 98.4 | -0.1 | 92.4 | 0.8 | |
| November | 113.2 | -2.6 | 110.9 | -1.6 | 94.7 | -1.5 | 92.2 | -0.2 | |
| December | 98.1 | 2.4 | 111.0 | 0.0 | 82.9 | 1.4 | 91.8 | -0.4 | |
| 2020 | January | 106.6 | -2.1 | 111.1 | 0.1 | 92.9 | -1.4 | 92.5 | 0.7 |
| February | 109.2 | 0.3 | 112.5 | 1.3 | 88.9 | -2.4 | 91.3 | -1.2 | |
| March | 108.9 | -7.9 | 99.3 | -11.8 | 91.7 | -4.3 | 86.6 | -5.2 | |
| April | 75.7 | -31.1 | 75.7 | -23.8 | 72.3 | -21.6 | 72.3 | -16.5 | |
| May | 80.2 | -29.8 | 82.2 | 8.6 | 73.3 | -21.6 | 75.1 | 3.9 | |
| June | 96.0 | -9.5 | 94.7 | 15.2 | 80.6 | -9.9 | 80.7 | 7.5 | |
| July | 102.3 | -11.0 | 98.7 | 4.3 | 83.1 | -11.3 | 81.4 | 0.9 | |
| August | 91.2 | -10.2 | 101.6 | 2.9 | 79.3 | -6.8 | 86.2 | 5.8 | |
| September | 109.8 | -3.8 | 103.9 | 2.3 | 89.0 | -4.3 | 86.1 | -0.1 | |
First detailed provisional results (only in german) by country of origin/country of destination and by chapter of the Commodity Classification for Foreign Trade Statistics as well as a comparative table based on the country of origin/country of consignment concepts are available for downloading.
German EU Council Presidency
The Federal Statistical Office has been responsible for organising the meetings of the Council Working Party on Statistics held during Germany’s EU Council Presidency under the chairmanship of its President Dr. Georg Thiel. Information on our activities during the Presidency of the Council of the EU is provided at destatis.de/eu2020.
European statistics are available under „Europe in figures“ on our website at www.destatis.de.
The results published by Eurostat on trade within the European Union (intra-EU trade) are based on the country of consignment principle, whereas the national results are based on the country of origin concept. Therefore, we additionally provide a comparative table for the country of origin / country of consignment concepts.
