Germany's foreign trade delivered a stable performance in March 2025, with exports increasing by 1.1% and imports falling by 1.4% compared to February 2025, according to provisional, calendar and seasonally adjusted figures released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).
Exports of goods totalled €133.2 billion, while imports reached €112.1 billion. This resulted in a foreign trade surplus of €21.1 billion for the month, an increase from the €18.0 billion surplus recorded in February 2025. Year-on-year, both exports and imports rose by 2.3%.
Trade with EU and Euro Area countries
Trade with European Union (EU) countries showed significant movement. Exports to the EU reached €72.3 billion, up by 3.1% from the previous month, while imports from the bloc fell by 3.5% to €56.9 billion. Trade with euro area countries was especially dynamic, with exports climbing 3.8% to €50.3 billion and imports dropping sharply by 5.8% to €37.1 billion. Exports to non-euro EU states grew by 1.6% to €22.0 billion; imports from these countries increased by 1.1% to €19.8 billion.
Trade with non-EU countries
Exports to non-EU countries (third countries) declined by 1.1% to €60.9 billion, while imports rose by 0.8% to €55.2 billion.
The United States remained Germany's top export partner, with goods worth €14.6 billion exported – a 2.4% increase from February. Exports to China surged by 10.2% to €7.5 billion. However, exports to the United Kingdom declined by 2.8% to €6.4 billion.
China was also Germany's leading import source in March. Goods worth €14.7 billion were imported from China – up 9.6% from the previous month. Imports from the United States increased by 7.9% to €8.1 billion, while imports from the UK fell by 5.8% to €3.2 billion.
Trade with Russia
Despite geopolitical complexities, trade with the Russian Federation also grew. Exports rose by 6.3% to €0.6 billion compared to February 2025 and were 11.9% higher than in March 2024. Imports from Russia increased by 9.8% to €0.1 billion in March and were up 38.6% year-on-year.
Original (unadjusted) values
In nominal terms (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects), Germany exported €140.1 billion and imported €116.8 billion worth of goods in March 2025. Compared with March 2024, this marked a 4.3% rise in exports and a 3.9% increase in imports. The resulting unadjusted foreign trade surplus stood at €23.3 billion, up from €21.8 billion in the previous year.
These results are provisional and reflect short-term trends. As Destatis notes, 'Short-term economic monitoring focuses on comparisons of seasonally and calendar adjusted figures with those of the previous month or quarter.'
Further detailed data will be published in GENESIS-Online on 20 May 2025.
More information;
Destatis
www.destatis.de