Bavaria's foreign trade in crisis: exports and imports are falling drastically!

Bavaria's foreign trade in crisis: exports and imports are falling drastically!

The Bavarian economy is facing growing challenges in international trade. In the first quarter of 2025, exports and imports fell by almost three percent. According to information from Frankenpost Goods worth almost 56.5 billion euros were exported, which corresponds to a decrease of 2.6 percent compared to the previous year. At the same time, imports fell by 2.7 percent to 55.2 billion euros. The falling numbers are particularly worrying for automotive suppliers in Upper Franconia, which act as important employers.

The deficit in foreign trade is perceived as a serious challenge and leads to concrete demands from business to politics. Experts warn that the economic situation is alarming given current trends in both exports and imports.

Long-term trends in foreign trade

A look at the overall development of Bavarian exports shows that the Bavarian economy exported a record value of 230.8 billion euros in 2023, which corresponds to an increase of 5.4 percent compared to the previous year. However, import ratios also changed, as imports fell by 4.5 percent to 240.8 billion euros. This led to a foreign trade deficit of ten billion euros, which, however, has decreased compared to previous years BR.

The most important export markets for Bavaria are the USA, Austria, China, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Great Britain and Poland. In 2023, exports increased in almost all of these countries, except for Austria and China. Particularly noteworthy is the export of passenger cars and mobile homes, which continue to be among the most important export goods.

Outlook and challenges

The expectations for the 2024 financial year, however, are gloomy. According to Bertram Brossardt, general manager of the Bavarian Business Association, export expectations are classified as pessimistic. The weak global economy and low domestic consumption in China represent significant challenges. In addition, bureaucracy, high energy costs and taxes make it difficult to produce competitive export goods.

Another critical point is the decline in imports of crude oil and natural gas, which fell by 55.2 percent to 8.2 billion euros. These factors make it clear that Bavaria has increasingly transformed from an export to an import country since 2019, which underlines the need for political measures to ensure the competitiveness of the Bavarian economy.