Exports by German exporters grew by 14.0 percent over the year as a whole.
(Photo: imago images/Lobeca)
Berlin Despite material shortages and disrupted supply chains, German exporters recovered from the 2020 Corona shock last year. Their exports grew by 14.0 percent to a record value of 1,375.5 billion euros for the year as a whole, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Wednesday. They exceeded the level of the pre-crisis year 2019 by 3.6 percent.
Imports even increased by 17.1 percent in 2021 and also reached a new record at 1,202.2 billion euros – not least because of the sharp rise in prices for energy imports such as natural gas. The German export surplus, which has been much criticized abroad, totaled 173.3 billion euros, which means that it fell for the fifth year in a row.
The chances of a sustained upswing in the current year are not bad. The export-dependent German industry is sitting on a record high order mountain, which cannot be removed at the actually possible speed due to material bottlenecks.
However, many experts assume that the situation regarding the supply of important preliminary products such as semiconductors and raw materials will ease over the course of the year. “Full order books from industrial companies are a good basis for further export growth,” said the chief economist at Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe Privatbank, Alexander Krüger. “Omicron and supply chains will decide how powerful this will be.”
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However, there are also a lot of risks. “If the energy prices on the world market don’t give way again soon, there is a risk of a further surge in inflation in the coming months,” warned the director of the IMK Institute, which is close to the trade unions, Sebastian Dullien. “It could put a strain on German households and German companies and thus also dampen the recovery.”
Geopolitical conflicts are weighing on exporters
Geopolitical conflicts such as the current tensions on Ukraine’s eastern border are also affecting the minds of many exporters. “Russia is not a top trading nation for Germany,” said the chief economist at VP Bank, Thomas Gitzel. However, Germany imports key raw materials from Russia, above all gas, oil and metals. “Without these raw materials, the German export machinery only works to a limited extent,” said Gitzel. “Whether 2022 will be a good export year for Germany also depends on how things progress in eastern Ukraine.”
In particular, the demand from the USA for goods “Made in Germany” increased last year: exports to the world’s largest economy grew by 18.0 percent to 122.1 billion euros. The United States thus remained the largest German export customer, followed by China. Exports to the People’s Republic increased by 8.1 percent to 103.6 billion euros, those to France by 12.6 percent to 102.3 billion euros. Most imports came from the People’s Republic of China in 2021. Goods worth 141.7 billion euros were imported from there, an increase of 20.8 percent over the previous year.
At the end of the year, exporters were in surprisingly good shape: In December, exports were up 0.9 percent on the previous month. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a slight decline of 0.2 percent.
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