Press release No. 399 of 7 November 2025
Exports (calendar and seasonally adjusted exports of goods), September 2025
131.1 billion euros
+1.4% on the previous month
+2.0% on the same month a year earlier
Imports (calendar and seasonally adjusted imports of goods), September 2025
115.9 billion euros
+3.1% on the previous month
+4.8% on the same month a year earlier
Foreign trade balance (calendar and seasonally adjusted), September 2025
15.3 billion euros
WIESBADEN – In September 2025, German exports were up 1.4% and imports rose by 3.1% on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis compared with August 2025. Compared with September 2024, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) further reports that exports increased by 2.0% and imports rose by 4.8%, based on provisional data.
After calendar and seasonal adjustment, Germany exported goods to the value of 131.1 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 115.9 billion euros in September 2025. The foreign trade balance thus showed a surplus of 15.3 billion euros in September 2025. The calendar and seasonally adjusted surplus stood at 16.9 billion euros in August 2025. In September 2024, the surplus was 18.0 billion euros.
Trade with EU countries
On a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis, Germany exported goods to the value of 74.3 billion euros to the Member States of the European Union (EU) in September 2025, while it imported goods to the value of 59.3 billion euros from these countries in the same period. Compared with August 2025, calendar and seasonally adjusted exports to EU countries rose by 2.5% and imports from these countries increased by 1.2%. The value of the goods exported to euro area countries totalled 51.4 billion euros (+1.4%), and the value of the goods imported from these countries was 38.9 billion euros (-0.7%). Goods to the value of 22.9 billion euros (+5.1%) were exported to EU countries not belonging to the euro area, while the value of the goods imported from those countries was 20.5 billion euros (+4.9%).
Trade with non-EU countries
Exports of goods to countries outside the EU (third countries) amounted to 56.8 billion euros in September 2025, while imports from these countries totalled 56.5 billion euros, on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis. Compared with August 2025, exports to third countries remained unchanged, while imports from third countries rose by 5.2%.
Most German exports were destined for the United States in September 2025, with goods exports totalling 12.2 billion euros (+11.9% on August 2025) after seasonal and calendar adjustment. Exports to the United States increased for the first time after five consecutive month-on-month decreases (from April to August 2025). However, exports to the United States were down 14.0% on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis compared with September 2024. Exports to the People’s Republic of China decreased by 2.2% to 6.7 billion euros in September 2025 compared with August 2025. Month on month, exports to the United Kingdom rose 7.1% to 7.0 billion euros.
Most imports in September 2025 came from the People's Republic of China. Goods to the value of 14.6 billion euros were imported from there after calendar and seasonally adjustment, which was an increase of 6.1% compared with the previous month. Imports from the United States rose by 9.0% to 8.7 billion euros. Imports from the United Kingdom increased by 20.0% to 3.6 billion euros during the same period.
After seasonal and calendar adjustment, exports to the Russian Federation increased by 0.8% to 0.6 billion euros in September 2025 from August 2025. Compared with September 2024, they were down 15.3%. Imports from Russia dropped by 0.2% to 0.1 billion euros in September 2025 compared with August 2025 and decreased by 29.7% from September 2024.
Original foreign trade values (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects)
Germany exported goods to the value of 137.5 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 120.2 billion euros on a nominal basis (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects) in September 2025. Compared with September 2024, exports therefore increased by 5.3% and imports were up 7.5%. The unadjusted foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 17.3 billion euros in September 2025. In September 2024, the surplus was 18.7 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 of seasonally and calendar adjusted figures with those of the previous month or quarter. These reflect short-term economic trends. Year-on-year comparisons of calendar adjusted results enable long-term comparisons of levels and are not influenced by seasonal fluctuations or calendar effects.
Detailed explanations on calendar and seasonal adjustment are included in the "Saisonbereinigung im Außenhandel" methodological paper (only in German). Calendar and seasonally adjusted values are always notional calculated values. For this reason, a comparison between adjusted series and unadjusted (nominal) series would serve little purpose.
The results in this press release are provisional data from monthly foreign trade statistics. As detailed results are not available this early, it is not possible to provide information on the reasons for changes in foreign trade as a whole or in trade with individual countries or groups of countries.
| Item | September 2025 | January to September 2025 | Percentage change from | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2025 | January to September 2024 | |||
| billion euros | % | |||
| Total exports | 131.1 | 1,176.5 | 1.4 | 0.7 |
| including: | ||||
| EU Member States | 74.3 | 651.7 | 2.5 | 3.2 |
| Euro area | 51.4 | 453.0 | 1.4 | 3.0 |
| Non-euro area | 22.9 | 198.7 | 5.1 | 3.6 |
| Third countries | 56.8 | 524.8 | 0.0 | -2.3 |
| including: | ||||
| United States | 12.2 | 113.2 | 11.9 | -7.4 |
| China | 6.7 | 61.7 | -2.2 | -11.9 |
| United Kingdom | 7.0 | 60.7 | 7.1 | 0.6 |
| Russian Federation | 0.6 | 5.2 | 0.8 | -8.5 |
| Total imports | 115.9 | 1 025.0 | 3.1 | 4.8 |
| including: | ||||
| EU Member States | 59.3 | 527.0 | 1.2 | 2.9 |
| Euro area | 38.9 | 347.4 | -0.7 | 2.0 |
| Non-euro area | 20.5 | 179.6 | 4.9 | 4.7 |
| Third countries | 56.5 | 497.9 | 5.2 | 6.8 |
| including: | ||||
| United States | 8.7 | 72.1 | 9.0 | 3.3 |
| China | 14.6 | 126.4 | 6.1 | 8.9 |
| United Kingdom | 3.6 | 29.2 | 20.0 | 7.6 |
| Russian Federation | 0.1 | 0.9 | -0.2 | -34.7 |
| Year | Month | Exports | Imports | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| calendar and seasonally adjusted value | original value | calendar and seasonally adjusted value | original value | ||||||
| in billion euros | change on previous month, % | in billion euros | change on the same month of the previous year, % | in billion euros | change on previous month, % | in billion euros | change on the same month of the previous year, % | ||
2024 | January | 129.8 | 1.5 | 126.8 | -1.7 | 104.6 | -3.7 | 104.4 | -11.7 |
| February | 131.0 | 1.0 | 132.2 | 0.1 | 109.3 | 4.5 | 108.3 | -4.5 | |
| March | 129.8 | -0.9 | 134.3 | -11.5 | 110.2 | 0.9 | 112.5 | -12.1 | |
| April | 134.2 | 3.4 | 138.8 | 15.3 | 112.1 | 1.7 | 115.1 | 8.3 | |
| May | 129.1 | -3.8 | 126.7 | -4.6 | 107.1 | -4.5 | 105.9 | -10.9 | |
| June | 127.1 | -1.6 | 128.5 | -8.5 | 106.2 | -0.9 | 106.6 | -9.8 | |
| July | 128.4 | 1.1 | 133.2 | 4.7 | 109.3 | 3.0 | 112.9 | 2.4 | |
| August | 130.6 | 1.6 | 120.3 | -3.2 | 108.7 | -0.6 | 101.9 | -3.1 | |
| September | 128.6 | -1.5 | 130.5 | 0.3 | 110.6 | 1.8 | 111.8 | 0.9 | |
| October | 126.0 | -2.0 | 133.6 | 0.5 | 111.4 | 0.7 | 118.5 | 4.4 | |
| November | 129.2 | 2.5 | 132.9 | -5.1 | 109.1 | -2.0 | 112.1 | -3.8 | |
| December | 129.8 | 0.5 | 111.9 | -2.0 | 110.0 | 0.8 | 96.8 | -1.3 | |
2025 | January | 129.7 | 0.0 | 125.1 | -1.3 | 113.8 | 3.5 | 112.3 | 7.6 |
| February | 131.2 | 1.1 | 129.9 | -1.7 | 113.7 | -0.1 | 111.0 | 2.5 | |
| March | 132.8 | 1.2 | 140.2 | 4.4 | 113.3 | -0.3 | 117.4 | 4.4 | |
| April | 131.7 | -0.8 | 131.8 | -5.1 | 115.4 | 1.8 | 115.6 | 0.5 | |
| May | 129.8 | -1.4 | 130.3 | 2.9 | 111.6 | -3.3 | 112.4 | 6.1 | |
| June | 130.6 | 0.6 | 129.0 | 0.4 | 114.8 | 2.8 | 113.0 | 6.0 | |
| July | 130.3 | -0.2 | 135.0 | 1.4 | 114.0 | -0.7 | 117.9 | 4.4 | |
| August | 129.3 | -0.8 | 115.3 | -4.1 | 112.4 | -1.4 | 102.8 | 0.9 | |
| September | 131.1 | 1.4 | 137.5 | 5.3 | 115.9 | 3.1 | 120.2 | 7.5 | |
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 download. Full detailed results for reference month September 2025 will be provided in GENESIS-Online (Tables 51000) as of 19 November 2025.
Foreign trade results can also be found on the Economic Dashboard, which is part of Dashboard Germany (www.dashboard-deutschland.de) (only in German). In this data portal, the Federal Statistical Office brings together up-to-date indicators from official statistics producers and other data providers on the topics of the labour market, construction, housing, energy and Ukraine. The portal also contains the Economic Pulse Monitor (Pulsmesser für die Wirtschaft) (only in German) tool for real-time economic monitoring.