Poland's ascent: overtakes China - German exports are booming!

The German East trade experiences an unexpected upswing, and Poland particularly stands out! In 2024, exports to Poland increased by impressive 3.5 percent and achieved a value of 93.8 billion euros, as oe24.at . This means that Poland is not only an important trading partner, but has now even overtaken China in order to be considered the fourth most important sales market for German products - only after the USA, France and the Netherlands.

This positive development in the trade with Poland is also reflected in the overall numbers. In the first half of 2024, exports to Poland were 48.4 billion euros, which corresponds to an increase of 4.6 percent compared to the previous year. In this way, Poland has overtaken China in the ranking of the most important sales markets for German products, which is considered a remarkable success, especially in the context of the necessary diversification of the German economy, according to the Eastern Committee Chairman Cathrina Claas-Mühlhäuser, which indicated in April 2024 that these developments are also important for future EU enlargement, as ost-amitte.de determined.

stability in the crisis period

Surprisingly, East trade has established itself as a stabilizing factor in German foreign trade, even in times of economic uncertainty. While German exports decreased by 1.0 percent to around 1,560 billion euros, exports into the 29 eastern states rose by a good percent to 281 billion euros. This shows the remarkable resilience of German companies in Central and Eastern Europe and their contribution to the German economy.

However, the developments also show that trading in Russia is very declining, with a decline in exports by 25 percent in the first half of 2024, while imports from Russia even broke up by shocking 58 percent. The German economy is therefore clearly repositioned, while Ukraine is gradually becoming more important than trading partners. After the first half of 2024, it is now eighth in the ranking of the German trading partners, while Russia ranks 45th. The shift in trade relationships and the focus on more stable markets stands for the challenges and opportunities that the current global trade brings.