FRANKFURT, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- German machinery exports shrank by 1.5 percent year-on-year in real terms in 2019 due to weak industrial production worldwide and growing protectionism, and the year 2020 is likely to see another decline, an expert from the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA) said on Thursday.
German mechanical engineering companies exported products worth 179.8 billion euros (194.4 billion U.S. dollars) in 2019, 1.5 percent below the previous year's figure in real terms, the VDMA said in a statement citing official data.
"In particular, international trade disputes, increasing protectionism and the Brexit hangover as well as the far-reaching structural change in the automotive industry have led to uncertainty and a reluctance to invest in many industries," VDMA economist Olaf Wortmann said in the statement.
"In view of the current order intake of mechanical engineering companies, a renewed decline in exports is likely for the whole of 2020," Wortmann said.
Last year, the United States was the top market for German machinery exporters, accounting for 11.2 percent of their total exports. However, Wortmann pointed out that the growth momentum for exports to the United States slowed significantly in the course of the year as its trade dispute with China also weakened the industry in America.
China was responsible for a 10.5-percent share of Germany's total machinery exports in 2019, ranking second. According to Wortmann, the effects of the current novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak on global exports cannot yet be assessed but the risk "does not change the fundamental importance of the Chinese market for our industry in the future."
The VDMA also said that last year, the political wrangling over Brexit weighted on German mechanical engineering companies, resulting in a nominal 5.8 percent drop in exports to the United Kingdom for the whole year.
