Rhineland-Palatinate is suffering: foreign trade collapses - exports fall drastically!

Rhineland-Palatinate is suffering: foreign trade collapses - exports fall drastically!

Rhineland-Palatinate shows a decline in foreign trade in the first quarter of 2025. Exports amounted to 14.8 billion euros, down 0.7 percent compared to the first quarter of 2024, while imports were 11 billion euros, down 1 percent. In contrast, exports across Germany rose by 0.6 percent and imports by 4.8 percent, as n-tv.de reports.

A closer look at the trade balance shows that exports to EU countries amounted to 8.7 billion euros and recorded a slight increase of 0.4 percent. Nevertheless, there were significant declines in exports to France, which fell by 11 percent, particularly in the motor vehicle and parts sectors, where exports fell by 34 percent. In addition, exports to China fell by 8.4 percent, while imports from China rose by 15 percent. An increase in imports was also recorded from the USA, where the values ​​rose by 25 percent.

Import and export developments in numbers

In the first quarter, the volume of exported goods increased by 7.6 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year, while the volume of imports fell by 1.6 percent. Export values ​​to the eurozone also rose by 0.4 percent. A closer look at specific countries shows:

• Niederlande: +4,8 %
• Österreich: +6,4 %
• Belgien: +4 %
• Spanien: +2,8 %

Imports from EU countries amounted to 6.3 billion euros, which represented a decrease of 8.7 percent. Nevertheless, import values ​​from the rest of Europe, particularly the United Kingdom, rose by 41 percent. Particularly noteworthy is the increase in import values ​​for machinery, which increased by 72 percent, and for pharmaceutical products, which even increased by 244 percent, as the detailed analysis by statistics.rlp.de shows.

Trends and changes

On the export side, chemical products were the winners with an increase of 9.7 percent and metals with 15 percent, while exports of machinery and motor vehicles fell. Foreign trade with the USA stood out, with a slight increase in exports of 0.6 percent and a strong increase in imports of 25 percent. For chemical products, exports to the USA rose by 38 percent, while metal exports there increased by 68 percent.

In summary, it can be said that general declines in foreign trade were nevertheless noted, which illustrates the challenges for the economy in Rhineland-Palatinate. The detailed picture of foreign trade is provided by the current n-tv.de and [statistics.rlp.de].