Germany’s Export Dominance in Fewer Areas, Study Reveals
A recent study by the German Institute for Economic Affairs (IW) has shown that the German economy is no longer dominant in a significant number of export sectors. The research, which was supported by the German Federal Foreign Office, analyzed over 5,300 product groups that Germany exports. According to the findings, the country is still strong in areas such as chemistry, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and non-ferrous metals. In some cases, Germany’s global market share of certain pharmaceuticals and fertilizers exceeds 90%.
Although the number of dominant product groups has slightly decreased since 2010, Germany remains strong compared to similar-sized European economies, but lags far behind the much larger United States, which dominates in around 350 product groups. China, meanwhile, continues to lead the export market, with a global market share of over 30 percent in around 1,500 product groups, particularly in machinery and electronic goods. In contrast, the European Union has a similar level of dominance in more than double the number of product groups.
“It becomes clear how important economic cooperation in Europe is to be able to compete with the heavyweights of the US and China” said the study’s author, Samina Sultan. Her co-author, Jürgen Matthes, called for Germany to “comprehensively and sustainably strengthen its competitiveness.