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Facts and figures on German agricultural exports

The German agricultural and food industries are well positioned to stand up to international competition.
Germany has, for years, been the world's third largest agricultural exporter.
In 2013, German agricultural exports were worth around
EUR 66 billion. Added to this are, according to industry
figures, around EUR 5.9 billion from exports of agricultural
machinery. Compared with 2012, this means a growth in
value of around 4 percent for agricultural exports. As in the
two previous years, agricultural exports thus developed
more favourably than total exports.
This positive trend was mainly due to the rise in the export
levels of milk and dairy products (plus 13.3 percent to 9.3
billion according to preliminary data). For the most part,
Source: Sascha Burkard - Fotolia.com
this is attributable to higher export prices. Only in the case
of butter was a significantly higher tonnage exported. Cheese exports reached a value of 3.8 billion,
representing a 9.8 percent increase. The trend in meat and meat products was very restrained (plus 0.3 percent
to a stable 9.0 billion), with only a slight increase in export prices. Whilst there was an increase in the value and
volume of pigmeat exports, beef exports declined. Exports of poultrymeat remained almost constant.
Now totalling 3.0 billion, cereal exports increased by 27 per cent, thus representing the biggest increase in
export value. Successful exports to Middle Eastern and North African countries were the main factor in this
increase. German exporters were able to export some 3.2 million tonnes of wheat and 1.8 million tonnes of barley
to these countries.
In agricultural trade, the biggest share is made up by the movement of goods within the European Union,
accounting for 76 percent of exports and 69 percent of imports. In trade with EU partners, exports rose by 5.1
percent to 47.4 billion. Trends varied greatly depending on the country of destination. Thus consignments to the
Baltic states and to Bulgaria and Romania had mostly two-digit growth rates. On the other hand, shipments to
Spain and Portugal declined.
Growth was significantly lower in trade with third countries. Exports of agricultural goods to non-EU countries
totalled 15.3 billion, marking an increase of 2.1 percent over the previous year. Greater growth was chiefly
prevented by difficulties in exports to Russia, which - due to an import ban on specific dairy and meat products fell by 14 percent to 1.60 billion. The growth that was reached in trade with third countries in spite of this can
also be attributed to the high level of regional diversification of German agricultural exports. Switzerland, Russia
and the U.S.A., followed by Saudi Arabia (plus 46 percent to 1,10 billion) and the People's Republic of China
(plus 37 percent to 913 million) are by far the biggest third-country markets. The export values to these

countries boast consistently high growth rates.

The following tenet holds true both for foodstuffs and for agricultural and food technologies: "Made in Germany"
stands for innovation, quality and safety. The renowned high level of quality of German products, which is
increasingly being complemented by the introduction of quality assurance systems across all stages, represents
a good foundation. The German food industry is particularly strong and competitive on foreign markets with
respect to high-quality processed products (with high value-added). Germany is the world's leading exporter for
confectionery, cheese and agricultural engineering and Europe's leading exporter for pigmeat.
As of:
02.09.14

Further information

Tradition Innovation a Devotion to Detail

Video
Germany is the worlds third largest exporter of agricultural goods. German products are popular and in
demand. The film on "Quality made in Germany" shows why. In approximately three minutes, the film shows
the wide range of products offered by the German agri-food industry in the fields of seed and planting
stock, animal genetics, agricultural machinery, raw materials (cultivation and production), and semi-finished
and finished products.
Germany stands for a modern, productive and at the same time sustainable agri-food industry. The film
shows how the industry meets the high quality standards that apply in all sectors. These quality standards
guarantee that all exports are of top quality.

Publications
Links

Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture