BERLIN, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Exports by the German electrical industry in November 2020 were still down slightly by 0.4 percent year-on-year to 18.9 billion euros, the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (ZVEI) announced on Wednesday.
Exports to the Czech Republic even slumped by 27.9 percent to 885 million euros, according to ZVEI. High declines were also recorded in exports by Germany's electrical industry to Japan, the United States and South Korea.
The industry's exports to Britain increased by 15.5 percent to 840 million euros in November, according to ZVEI. At the turn of the year, Britain withdrew from the European Union after a free trade agreement was reached at the last minute.
Against the negative trend, exports to Poland and to China "grew powerfully," ZVEI said in its monthly foreign trade report. Exported goods by Germany's electrical industry to Poland increased by 20.5 percent to 1.2 billion euros and to China by 13.6 percent to 2.2 billion euros.
While overall exports "continued to recede slightly in November 2020, imports were able to exceed their corresponding pre-year level markedly," ZVEI noted. Germany's imports of electrical and electronic goods in November picked up by 7.6 percent year-on-year to 18.8 billion euros.
German imports in November last year were almost as high as exports in terms of value. "The last time this was the case was around 20 years ago," said ZVEI chief economist Andreas Gontermann in a statement.
From January to November last year, imports from China, the most important import country for the German electrical industry in 2019, rose by 4.7 percent year-on-year to 49.5 billion euros, according to ZVEI.
At the same time, imports from the United States, the industry's second most important supplying country in 2019, declined by 12 percent to 10.1 billion euros, according to ZVEI. Enditem
