Eastern trade drives German economy; Poland and Ukraine stand out

According to a recent analysis by the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, based on Federal Statistical Office data, foreign trade with 29 countries in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe as well as Central Asia rose by 2% in the first half of 2025, reaching €275 billion – an increase of more than €5.4 billion. Exports to Eastern Europe grew by €3 billion to €144 billion, up 2.2%. By contrast, Germany’s total exports fell by 0.1% to €786 billion in the same period.

Cathrina Claas Mühlhäuser, Chair of the Committee, commented:

“German trade with Eastern Europe continues to gain traction for the overall economy. Contrary to the wider trend, our exports to the region have grown strongly.”

Poland and Ukraine driving growth

Trade with Poland and Ukraine expanded at a faster pace than with most other partners. German-Polish trade reached a record high of more than €90 billion in the first half of 2025 – an increase of €4.6 billion, or 5.4%. German exports to Poland rose by €2.6 billion (+5.7%), while imports from Poland increased by €2 billion (+5.2%). As the report notes, exports to Poland (€49.4 billion) now exceed those to China (€41.4 billion).

Exports to Ukraine climbed by more than €1 billion (+30%) to €4.6 billion. Imports from Ukraine edged down slightly, by €70 million, to €1.52 billion. Claas Mühlhäuser underlined:

“Supporting and rebuilding Ukraine remains a key task for European politics and business.”

She also stressed the importance of a legally secure environment to encourage further investment.

Other trade relations: Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia, Belarus

• Czech Republic: Trade increased by 3.4% to €57.8 billion. Exports grew by 1.6% to €26.6 billion, while imports rose by 5% to €31.2 billion.
• Hungary: Bilateral trade contracted by 3.7% to €33.4 billion, with German exports down by about €1 billion (-6.2%).
• Russia: Trade with Russia dropped by almost 13%, pushing the country down to 12th place among Germany’s Eastern partners. Imports fell by 37% to €667 million, while exports declined by 6% to €3.5 billion, consisting mainly of medical products exempt from sanctions.
• Belarus: Trade fell sharply, down more than 70% to €320 million.

Southeast Europe and Central Asia – mixed trends

• Croatia: +6.3%
• Romania: +0.4%
• Bulgaria: +2.3%
• Serbia: –1.1%
• North Macedonia: –13%

Central Asia showed a clear downward trend overall. In Kazakhstan, the region’s largest partner, trade volume fell by 18.5% to €4 billion. German imports dropped 24%, while exports declined by 5.4%.

By contrast, trade with Uzbekistan grew by more than 30% to €660 million, while trade with Azerbaijan rose by nearly 28% to just under €800 million.

Germany’s top 25 foreign trade partners, first half of 2025

Rank (previous year)	country	Trade in thousands of € Trade turnover 1H25	Goods traffic in thousand € Trade turnover 1H24	German imports in thousand € 1H25	German imports in thousand € 1H24	German exports in thousand € 1H25	German exports in thousand € 1H24	Change compared to previous year import %	Change compared to previous year export %	Change compared to previous year trading turnover %
1 (1)	USA	124,947,856	126,858,620	47,378,494	46,112,487	77,569,362	80,746,133	2.7	−3.9	−1.5
2 (2)	China	122,747,945	121,732,630	81,358,011	73,479,440	41,389,934	48,253,190	10.7	−14.2	0.8
3 (3)	Netherlands	104,871,110	103,543,623	49,253,666	47,865,876	55,617,444	55,677,747	2.9	−0.1	1.3
4 (4)	France	92,600,044	94,480,535	33,424,552	34,047,298	59,175,492	60,433,237	−1.8	−2.1	−2.0
5 (5)	Poland	90,017,132	85,378,796	40,604,655	38,610,284	49,412,477	46,768,512	5.2	5.7	5.4
6 (6)	Italy	78,441,663	75,876,835	36,351,976	34,248,287	42,089,687	41,628,548	6.1	1.1	3.4
7 (8)	Switzerland	65,831,962	61,694,228	28,675,399	26,655,889	37,156,563	35,038,339	7.6	6.0	6.7
8 (7)	Austria	65,759,049	64,420,947	26,605,559	25,638,150	39,153,490	38,782,797	3.8	1.0	2.1
9 (9)	United Kingdom	60,115,554	58,801,429	19,715,666	17,802,511	40,399,888	40,998,918	10.7	−1.5	2.2
10 (10)	Czech Republic	57,772,891	55,878,075	31,181,231	29,695,493	26,591,660	26,182,582	5.0	1.6	3.4
11 (11)	Belgium	53,043,108	54,000,764	23,379,433	23,697,549	29,663,675	30,303,215	−1.3	−2.1	−1.8
12 (12)	Spain	49,388,639	47,757,007	20,320,189	20,066,417	29,068,450	27,690,590	1.3	5.0	3.4
13 (13)	Hungary	33,413,691	34,711,530	17,672,775	17,934,039	15,740,916	16,777,491	−1.5	−6.2	−3.7
14 (15)	Türkiye	28,125,801	25,390,600	12,982,493	11,781,419	15,143,308	13,609,181	10.2	11.3	10.8
15 (15)	Sweden	24,179,995	23,582,891	9,663,421	9,194,708	14,516,574	14,388,183	5.1	0.9	2.5
16 (16)	Japan	23,206,504	21,400,388	11,247,338	11,552,954	11,959,166	9,847,434	−2.6	21.4	8.4
17 (17)	Romania	21,145,115	21,566,670	9,752,253	10,219,324	11,392,862	11,347,346	−4.6	0.4	−2.0
18 (20)	Norway	19,877,450	18,203,477	14,511,346	13,442,334	5,366,104	4,761,143	8.0	12.7	9.2
19 (19)	Denmark	19,783,532	18,640,570	7,762,197	7,358,734	12,021,335	11,281,836	5.5	6.6	6.1
20 (18)	Slovakia	19,567,166	19,380,315	10,462,712	10,391,455	9,104,454	8,988,860	0.7	1.3	1.0
21 (21)	Ireland	16,213,073	17,003,877	10,997,007	11,998,992	5,216,066	5,004,885	−8.4	4.2	−4.7
22 (23)	India	15,634,797	14,367,386	7,651,409	6,960,570	7,983,388	7,406,816	9.9	7.8	8.8
23 (22)	Republic of Korea	15,624,669	16,868,495	6,525,176	6,821,659	9,099,493	10,046,836	−4.3	−9.4	−7.4
24 (24)	Mexico	12,730,366	14,186,046	4,922,170	4,783,979	7,808,196	9,402,067	2.9	−17.0	−10.3
25 (25)	Taiwan	12,682,618	11,961,953	7,425,600	6,945,922	5,257,018	5,016,031	6.9	4.8	6.0