Exports from Germany to the Russian Federation collapsed in March 2022 in the wake of the war in Ukraine and the sanctions imposed against Russia. According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), goods worth 1.0 billion euros were exported to Russia, which was 58.7% less than in March 2021. In February 2022, exports to Russia had still increased by 16.7% compared with the same month a year earlier. In March 2022, exports of machinery fell sharply, dropping by 73.6% to 165.8 million euros compared with March 2021, and exports of chemical products declined by 40.9% to 158.7 million euros. On the import side, the trend was opposite to exports. Due to rising raw material prices, imports from the Russian Federation to Germany increased by 77.7% to 4.4 billion euros in March 2022 compared with March 2021.
For Thuringia, the following figures result: March exports were 11.2 million euros, 66.0% below the level of the same month last year and 64.6% below the previous month. Among the important Thuringian export product groups Data processing equipment, electronic and optical products, electrical equipment as well as Motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts the decline was clearly over 90%. Imports from Russia increased as they did at the federal level.
