The economic performance linked with domestic production to satisfy foreign demand rose accordingly from a share of 15.6 percent of the gross domestic product in 1995 to 23.2 percent in 2005.
In relation to the value of exports, the foreign share in the value chain of German exports increased continuously. In 2005, imported intermediate consumption used to produce goods and services for the foreign market accounted for a share of 22.6 percent of exports.
Commodities temporarily imported to Germany only for trading purposes or for processing under contract contributed 17.0 percent to exports. Thus the import share of exports totals 39.6 percent.
If one looks only at the export of goods excluding services, the share of imports in total goods exports is 41.7 percent. The differences existing between the three major trading goods are considerable. In 2005, the import share was especially large for chemical products (51.7 percent).
For motor vehicles, it was slightly below the average of all goods exports with 37.0 percent, and it was relatively small for machinery (30.9 percent).
In the case of chemical products, goods for resale and imports for processing under contract prevailed, in the case of motor vehicles and parts thereof, imported intermediate consumption predominated.
The pronounced growth of German foreign trade over the last few years – from 1995 to 2005 foreign trade turnover rose 95 percent– was accompanied by only few structural changes for instance regarding the main trading partners of the Federal Republic of Germany: traditionally, the most important German sales markets are located within the European Union.
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