BERLIN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- In 2019, German exports increased by 0.8 percent to 1.33 trillion euros (1.46 trillion U.S. dollars) compared to the previous year, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced on Friday.
At the same time, the value of goods imported by Germany grew even stronger to 1.1 trillion euros, an increase of 1.4 percent, according to Destatis.
"German exports and imports exceeded the former record highs of 2018," Destatis noted. "However, foreign trade growth slowed in comparison with previous years." In 2018, exports were still increasing by three percent and imports by 5.6 percent.
The Federation of German Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services (BGA) noted that the country's foreign trade withstood "numerous political and economic turbulences in 2019."
"While exports only increased slightly, the increase in German imports shows their continuing growing importance for the German economy," said BGA President Holger Bingmann on Friday.
German exports to member states of the European Union (EU) fell by 0.2 percent to 777.3 billion euros, while imports from EU countries rose by 1.3 percent to 631.3 billion euros, Destatis noted.
Exports of goods to countries outside the EU amounted to 550.3 billion euros and increased by 2.2 percent. At the same time, total imports to Germany from non-EU countries amounted to 472.8 billion euros, an increase of 1.6 percent.
"Even though the past year was strongly marked by trade policy conflicts, the current results show that German companies are positioned broadly enough to adapt flexibly to the respective current situation," Bingmann said.
With regard to Germany's foreign trade balance, the surplus of 223.6 billion euros in 2019 was slightly below the 2018 level of 228.7 billion euros, according to Destatis.
According to provisional results from the Deutsche Bundesbank, the current account of the balance of payments, including interests and financial transactions, showed a surplus of 266.2 billion euros in 2019, up from 246.0 billion euros in 2018. (1 euro = 1.10 U.S. dollars)
