Imports of electrical and electronic products to Germany in May were almost twice as high as exports. They increased by 21.2 percent (again compared to the previous year) to 19.6 billion euros. From January to May, imports totaled 100.1 billion euros, up 14.3% on the previous year. The foreign trade balance for electrical goods was correspondingly in deficit in the first five months.

Growing industry deliveries in the eurozone

Industry deliveries to the eurozone increased by 8.8% year-on-year to €5.9 billion in May 2022. Business with 14 of the 18 eurozone trading partners increased in May; the declines only affected smaller countries. Industry deliveries to Austria rose by 2.5% in May (compared to the previous year) to 801 million euros. Exports to Italy increased by 5.9% to 914 million euros and those to Spain by 8.6% to 611 million euros. Double-digit growth rates were achieved in business with both Belgium (+ 10.2% to € 401 million) and France (+ 13.3% to € 1.2 billion). In the overall period from January to May of this year, German electrical and electronic exports to the eurozone amounted to €30.9 billion. This was 4.4 percent higher than the corresponding figure for the previous year.

Domestic electrical exports to countries outside the eurozone rose by 13.4% year-on-year to €13.2 billion in May 2022. Single-digit growth was recorded in electrical exports to the Czech Republic (+ 1.7% to €839 million), Poland (+ 8.9% to €1.0 billion) and China (+ 9.2% to €2.2 billion). While business with the UK (+ 10.7% to € 726 million) saw slight double-digit growth, exports to South Korea (+ 28.1% to € 296 million), the USA (+ 34.6% to € 2.0 billion) and Japan (+ 45.2% to € 277 million) really took off.

"In contrast, deliveries to Russia and Ukraine continued to slump in May," says Gontermann, "the former by two thirds to € 107 million and the latter by more than a third to € 27 million." Accumulated deliveries to third countries from January to May 2022 amounted to 64.3 billion euros - an increase of 6.5% compared to the previous year.