The following list shows which German exports attracted the most international sales during 2017. Unlike most information currently available on the web, the items below are detailed at the four-digit tariff code level.
This level of granularity can help entrepreneurs identify precisely which products in which Germany has strong competitive advantages over other nations and opportunities for increasing sales.
Deutschland is the world’s number three exporter behind China and the United States. Back in 2006 when I started my career as an international trade feature writer, Germany was the leading export nation.
For the most recent four-digit HTS code data, please see the Searchable List of Germany’s Most Valuable Exports Products section in the Germany’s Top 10 Exports article. For a link to that article, see the See also paragraph above Research Sources below.
Highest Value German Export Products
Below are the 20 highest value export products shipped from Germany in 2017. Shown within brackets is the year-over-year percentage change for each item.
- Cars: US$156.6 billion (up 3.1% since 2016)
- Automobile parts/accessories: $62.2 billion (up 10.3%)
- Medication mixes in dosage: $52.6 billion (up 8.3%)
- Aircraft, spacecraft: $30.9 billion (down -12.1%)
- Blood fractions (including antisera): $24.5 billion (up 7.4%)
- Miscellaneous machinery: $16 billion (up 18.2%)
- Integrated circuits/microassemblies: $15 billion (up 23.1%)
- Computers, optical readers: $14.9 billion (up 22.3%)
- Electro-medical equipment (e.g. xrays): $14 billion (up 7.4%)
- Lower-voltage switches, fuses: $13.9 billion (up 12.3%)
- Piston engine parts: $13.6 billion (up 4.6%)
- Taps, valves, similar appliances: $12.7 billion (up 12.9%)
- Phone system devices including smartphones: $12.4 billion (down -5.8%)
- Centrifuges, filters and purifiers: $12.3 billion (up 5.3%)
- Processed petroleum oils: $12.2 billion (up 11.7%)
- Electrical/optical circuit boards, panels: $11.9 billion (up 13.1%)
- Transmission shafts, gears, clutches: $11.7 billion (up 9.8%)
- Aircraft parts: $10.8 billion (up 16.8%)
- Liquid pumps and elevators: $10.6 billion (up 10.1%)
- Trucks: $10.3 billion (down -0.3%)
Given well-known German brands including Audi, Mercedes Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen, it should come as no shock that cars finished first among Germany’s highest value export products for 2017. German-made trucks also appear albeit further down on the list.
Among the above products, integrated circuits or microassemblies had the greatest increase in export sales from 2016 to 2017 via an 23.1% gain.
In second place were German exports of computers and optical readers, a category with international sales that improved by 22.3%.
Shipments of miscellaneous machinery improved by 18.2% while aircraft parts appreciated by 16.8%.
Three categories fell in value, namely aircraft or spacecraft (down -12.1%), phone system devices including smartphones (down -5.8%) and trucks (down -0.3%).
See also Germany’s Top 10 Imports, Germany’s Top 10 Major Export Companies, Germany’s Top Trading Partners, Top German Trade Balances and Germany’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on March 7, 2018
The World Factbook, Field Listing: Exports and World Population, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on March 7, 2018
Trade Map, International Trade Centre, www.intracen.org/marketanalysis. Accessed on March 7, 2018