German exports to the UK declined 2.5% last year, due to effects linked to the Brexit process, Germany's federal statistics office, Destatis, has said.
This is the second year in a row that exports from Germany to the UK have dropped, following a 15.3% decline the previous year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Goods worth €65.4 billion were exported from Germany to the UK last year, based on preliminary data on export figures up to the end of the year.
January To November
In the period from January to November, for which full data is available, goods worth €60.5 billion were exported to the UK, while €29.4 billion was imported – during the period, exports fell by 2.0% and imports by 7.7%.
In terms of the ranking of Germany's most important trading partners, the UK fell from fifth in 2020 to eighth in 2021 (in the period from January to November 2021). In terms of imports, it dropped from 11th to 13th in terms of importance.
'A year after the United Kingdom left the European Union, German exports to the United Kingdom continue to decline,' Destatis said in a press release.
'After 2020, which was characterised by the coronavirus pandemic (-15.3% compared to 2019), exports to the United Kingdom fell again in 2021 by 2.5% compared to 2020 due to the effects of the completed Brexit.'F
Food Industry Recovery
Earlier this week, BVE, the federation of German food and drinks industries, said that it expects economic recovery in the country's food industry to be delayed due to challenges posed by the pandemic.
The food sector in Germany generated sales of €182.4 billion in 2021, which was down by 1.6%, while sales volumes fell by 3.8%.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. For more Supply Chain news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
