© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of the container terminal in the Port of Hamburg, Germany, on November 14, 2019. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer//File photo
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s exports to Russia fell 57.5 percent to 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) in March due to sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine, Germany’s Federal Statistics Office said on Thursday.
The drop has dropped Russia from fifth place in February to Germany’s 12th largest export market outside the European Union.
Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what Moscow called a “special military operation”, prompting tough Western sanctions. These include export restrictions.
Overall, German exports to countries outside the EU fell by 7.2% to 52.8 billion euros in March compared to February. However, they were 3.2% higher than in March 2021.
The United States remains Germany’s main export market, with goods exports worth 13.5 billion euros in March, up 21 percent year-on-year. Exports to China were 10.2 billion euros, down 1% year-on-year, and exports to the UK fell 0.3% to 6.4 billion euros.
The German trade association BGA said last month that a survey of its members showed a majority expected a post-conflict economic slowdown in Ukraine, but businesses still supported the government’s sanctions on Russia.
(1 USD = 0.9214 EUR)