Press release No. 463 of 2 November 2022
Exports (calendar and seasonally adjusted exports of goods), September 2022
134.5 billion euros
-0.5% on the previous month
+20.3% on the same month a year earlier
Imports (calendar and seasonally adjusted imports of goods), September 2022
130.8 billion euros
-2.3% on the previous month
+30.7% on the same month a year earlier
Foreign trade balance (calendar and seasonally adjusted), September 2022
+3.7 billion euros
WIESBADEN – In September 2022, German exports were down by 0.5% and imports by 2.3% on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis compared with August 2022. Based on provisional data, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that exports increased by 20.3% and imports by 30.7% from September 2021.
After calendar and seasonal adjustment, Germany exported goods to the total value of 134.5 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 130.8 billion euros in September 2022.
The foreign trade balance thus showed a surplus of 3.7 billion euros in September 2022. The calendar and seasonally adjusted surplus had been +1.2 billion euros in August 2022 and +11.7 billion euros in September 2021.
Trade with EU countries
On a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis, Germany exported goods to the value of 73.4 billion euros to the Member States of the European Union (EU), while it imported goods to the value of 64.3 billion euros from those countries in September 2022. Compared with August 2022, calendar and seasonally adjusted exports to the EU countries dropped by 1.7% and imports from those countries by 1.2%. The value of the goods exported to euro area countries totalled 51.5 billion euros (-1.6%) and the value of the goods imported from there was 44.3 billion euros (-0.6%). Goods to the value of 21.9 billion euros (-1.9%) were exported to EU countries not belonging to the euro area, while the value of the goods imported from those countries was 20.1 billion euros (-2.5%).
Trade with non-EU countries
Exports of goods to countries outside the EU (third countries) amounted to 61.1 billion euros in September 2022, while imports from those countries totalled 66.5 billion euros on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis. Compared with August 2022, exports to third countries increased by 1.0% and imports from those countries decreased by 3.4%.
Most German exports went to the United States in September 2022. 5.6% more goods were exported there after seasonal and calendar adjustment, compared with August 2022. Exports to the United States thus rose to 14.5 billion euros. Exports to the People's Republic of China decreased by 2.0% to 8.9 billion euros and exports to the United Kingdom fell 0.3% to 6.1 billion euros.
Most imports came from the People's Republic of China in September 2022. Goods to the value of 16.7 billion euros were imported from there, which was a 5.4% increase compared with the previous month, after calendar and seasonal adjustment. Imports from the United States were down 1.3% to 8.1 billion euros. Imports from the United Kingdom increased by 3.7% to 3.5 billion euros in the same period.
Exports to the Russian Federation declined a calendar and seasonally adjusted 5.4% to 1.0 billion euros in September 2022 compared with August 2022 and dropped 52.6% from September 2021. Imports from Russia fell by 33.1% to 1.8 billion euros in September 2022 from August 2022.
Original foreign trade values (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects)
Germany exported goods to the value of 142.4 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 133.4 billion euros on a nominal basis (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects) in September 2022. These were the highest monthly figures ever recorded in foreign trade statistics for both exports and imports. Compared with September 2021, exports increased by 20.3% and imports by 30.7%. The unadjusted foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 9.0 billion euros in September 2022. In September 2021, the surplus had been +16.2 billion euros.
Methodological notes:
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. The results of month-on-month, quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year comparisons may differ considerably at present because of the Covid-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine.
To meet changed user needs, more importance has been attached to calendar and seasonally adjusted results in the press releases on foreign trade statistics since reference month January 2022. Many users intend to use foreign trade statistics for time series comparisons, for instance, to show how exports have developed compared with the previous month or the same month a year earlier. The informational value of such comparisons based on unadjusted values and the seasonal and calendar effects included in them is limited. Calendar and seasonal adjustment is designed to exclude these effects. The X13 JDemetra+ method is used for the calendar and seasonal adjustment of foreign trade data. Related detailed explanations are included in the methodological paper “Saisonbereinigung im Außenhandel“ (only in german). The fact that adjusted values are always calculated ‘fictitious’ values is important in evaluating calendar and seasonally adjusted values. For this reason, a comparison between adjusted series and nominal series is not useful. The nominal values form the basis for the calculation of calendar and seasonally adjusted results.
More information:
More calendar and seasonally adjusted results of foreign trade statistics are available in the GENESIS-Online database (Tables 51000-0020 and 51000-0021). First detailed provisional results on a nominal basis by country of origin/country of destination and by chapter of the Commodity Classification for Foreign Trade Statistics are available for downloading.
The foreign trade results also form part of the Crisis Monitor (www.destatis.de/krisenmonitor), by means of which the Federal Statistical Office compares the development of major short-term indicators in the Covid-19 crisis and the financial and economic crisis of 2008/2009. They are also available on the “Corona Statistics” webpage (www.destatis.de/corona) and in the Dashboard Germany (www.dashboard-deutschland.de) (only in german), together with other indicators which can be used to assess the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Dashboard Germany portal of the Federal Statistical Office combines up-to-date indicators of official statistics and indicators of other data providers on the topics of economy and finance as well as health and mobility.
Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the related sanctions have an impact on many parts of the economy and society. We have compiled data and information on the subject for you on a special webpage (only in german).
| Item | September 2022 | January to September 2022 | Percentage change from | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2022 | January to September 2021 | |||
| billion euro | % | |||
| Total exports | 134.5 | 1,163.2 | -0.5 | 14.9 |
| including: | ||||
| EU Member States | 73.4 | 636.2 | -1.7 | 15.6 |
| Euro-zone | 51.5 | 443.9 | -1.6 | 16.2 |
| Non-euro-zone | 21.9 | 192.3 | -1.9 | 14.3 |
| Third countries | 61.1 | 526.9 | 1.0 | 14.2 |
| including: | ||||
| Russian Federation | 1.0 | 11.8 | -5.4 | -39.0 |
| Total imports | 130.8 | 1 114.8 | -2.3 | 28.1 |
| including: | ||||
| EU Member States | 64.3 | 550.0 | -1.2 | 18.9 |
| Euro-zone | 44.3 | 378.6 | -0.6 | 19.8 |
| Non-euro-zone | 20.1 | 171.3 | -2.5 | 17.0 |
| Third countries | 66.5 | 564.9 | -3.4 | 38.6 |
| including: | ||||
| Russian Federation | 1.8 | 30.2 | -33.1 | 29.5 |
| Year | Month | Exports | Imports | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| calendar and seasonally adjusted value | original value | calendar and seasonally adjusted value | original value | ||||||
| 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 % | value in billion euros | change on the same month of the previous year in % | ||
| 2021 | January | 110.0 | 2.2 | 98.9 | -7.3 | 87.8 | -3.3 | 84.3 | -9.4 |
| February | 110.1 | 0.0 | 107.9 | -1.1 | 92.7 | 5.6 | 89.9 | 1.1 | |
| March | 113.1 | 2.7 | 128.0 | 17.1 | 97.4 | 5.0 | 106.3 | 15.4 | |
| April | 112.6 | -0.4 | 112.7 | 48.4 | 96.3 | -1.1 | 96.6 | 33.7 | |
| May | 113.7 | 1.0 | 110.3 | 36.8 | 98.4 | 2.1 | 97.2 | 32.6 | |
| June | 112.9 | -0.7 | 119.0 | 24.0 | 99.7 | 1.3 | 102.8 | 27.5 | |
| July | 114.9 | 1.8 | 115.5 | 12.3 | 98.6 | -1.0 | 97.3 | 17.1 | |
| August | 112.6 | -2.0 | 104.5 | 14.5 | 99.1 | 0.5 | 93.3 | 17.6 | |
| September | 111.8 | -0.7 | 118.3 | 7.6 | 100.1 | 1.0 | 102.1 | 13.5 | |
| October | 117.0 | 4.6 | 121.4 | 8.2 | 104.7 | 4.7 | 108.9 | 17.7 | |
| November | 119.2 | 1.9 | 126.0 | 12.4 | 108.4 | 3.5 | 114.6 | 20.3 | |
| December | 120.3 | 0.9 | 117.0 | 15.6 | 113.9 | 5.1 | 110.7 | 28.6 | |
| 2022 | January | 120.3 | 0.0 | 111.7 | 12.9 | 108.2 | -5.0 | 106.3 | 26.1 |
| February | 127.0 | 5.6 | 124.5 | 15.4 | 116.3 | 7.5 | 112.4 | 25.1 | |
| March | 123.2 | -3.0 | 139.4 | 8.9 | 119.5 | 2.8 | 130.5 | 22.8 | |
| April | 128.0 | 3.9 | 123.7 | 9.8 | 124.3 | 4.0 | 121.9 | 26.2 | |
| May | 130.3 | 1.8 | 134.8 | 22.3 | 126.6 | 1.9 | 131.1 | 34.9 | |
| June | 133.3 | 2.3 | 136.1 | 14.3 | 127.4 | 0.6 | 128.6 | 25.1 | |
| July | 131.4 | -1.4 | 127.8 | 10.7 | 127.7 | 0.3 | 123.0 | 26.4 | |
| August | 135.2 | 2.9 | 128.7 | 23.1 | 134.0 | 4.9 | 128.4 | 37.6 | |
| September | 134.5 | -0.5 | 142.4 | 20.3 | 130.8 | -2.3 | 133.4 | 30.7 | |
