Exports in September 2023: -2.4% on August 2023 - German Federal Statistical Office

Press release No. 425 of 3 November 2023

Exports (calendar and seasonally adjusted exports of goods), September 2023
126.5 billion euros
-2.4% on the previous month
-7.5% on the same month a year earlier

Imports (calendar and seasonally adjusted imports of goods), September 2023
110.0 billion euros
-1.7% on the previous month
-16.6% on the same month a year earlier

Foreign trade balance (calendar and seasonally adjusted), September 2023
+16.5 billion euros

WIESBADEN – In September 2023, German exports were down 2.4% and imports dropped 1.7% on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis compared with August 2023. Based on provisional data, the Federal Statistical Office ( Destatis ) also reports that exports decreased by 7.5% from September 2022 and imports fell by 16.6%.

After calendar and seasonal adjustment, Germany exported goods to the total value of 126.5 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 110.0 billion euros in September 2023. The foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 16.5 billion euros in September 2023. The calendar and seasonally adjusted surplus stood at 17.7 billion euros in August 2023 and 5.0 billion euros in September 2022.

Trade with EU countries

On a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis, Germany exported goods to the value of 69.8 billion euros to the Member States of the European Union (EU) in September 2023, while it imported goods to the value of 58.7 billion euros from these countries in the same period. Compared with August 2023, calendar and seasonally adjusted exports to EU countries dropped by 2.1% and imports from these countries fell by 2.6%. The value of the goods exported to euro area countries in September 2023 totalled 48.8 billion euros (-2.4%), and the value of the goods imported from these countries was 38.9 billion euros (-3.8%). In September 2023, goods to the value of 20.9 billion euros (-1.3%) were exported to EU countries not belonging to the euro area, while the value of the goods imported from these countries was 19.8 billion euros (-0.2%), on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis.

Trade with non-EU countries

Exports of goods to countries outside the EU (third countries) amounted to 56.7 billion euros in September 2023, while imports from these countries totalled 51.3 billion euros, on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis. Compared with August 2023, exports to third countries declined by 2.8% and imports from third countries fell by 0.6%.

Most German exports in September 2023 went to the United States. After seasonal and calendar adjustment, exports of goods to the United States were down 4.0% compared with August 2023, with the value of exports to the United States dropping to 12.8 billion euros. Exports to the People's Republic of China decreased by 7.3% to 7.7 billion euros and exports to the United Kingdom rose by 2.3% to 6.3 billion euros.

Most imports in September 2023 came from the People's Republic of China. Goods to the value of 13.0 billion euros were imported from there, which represented a 0.9% decrease compared with the previous month, after calendar and seasonal adjustment. Imports from the United States rose by 0.5% to 7.7 billion euros. Imports from the United Kingdom increased by 5.2% to 3.2 billion euros during the same period.

Exports to the Russian Federation declined a calendar and seasonally adjusted 11.2% to 0.6 billion euros in September 2023 compared with August 2023. Compared with September 2022, when exports to Russia had decreased sharply as a result of the Russian attack on Ukraine, exports fell by 41.7%. Imports from Russia rose by 7.5% to 0.2 billion euros in September 2023 from August 2023, and were down 89.4% compared with September 2022.

Original foreign trade values (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects)

Germany exported goods to the value of 129.2 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 110.2 billion euros on a nominal basis (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects) in September 2023. Compared with September 2022, exports in September 2023 therefore decreased by 10.5%, and imports fell by 18.5%. The unadjusted foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 19.0 billion euros in September 2023. In September 2022, the surplus was 9.1 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. 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.

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.

To meet changes in 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 wish 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. Such comparisons are of limited informational value if they are based on original values and the seasonal and calendar effects these values entail. Calendar and seasonal adjustment removes these effects. Detailed explanations on calendar and seasonal adjustment are included in the “ Saisonbereinigung im Außenhandel “ methodological paper (only in German). When evaluating calendar and seasonally adjusted values, it is important to remember that adjusted values are always notional calculated values. For this reason, a comparison between adjusted series and unadjusted (nominal) series would serve little purpose.

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.

Foreign trade results are also available on Dashboard Germany at www.dashboard-deutschland.de (in German only). This data portal of the Federal Statistical Office combines up-to-date indicators from official statistics producers and other data providers on the topics of the economy, finance, health and mobility. The portal also contains the Economic Pulse Monitor ( Pulsmesser für die Wirtschaft ) (only in German) tool for real-time economic monitoring.

Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the related sanctions are having an impact on many parts of the economy and society. Relevant data and information are provided on a special webpage at www.destatis.de/ukraine (in German only).

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