Oberhof (dpa/th) - Thuringia's foreign trade has recovered from the 2020 pandemic-related slump. Last year, record levels were achieved in exports and imports, Economics Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee (SPD) announced on Tuesday at the Foreign Trade Day in Oberhof. The export volume in 2021 was almost 17 billion euros, imports reached a value of almost 13.7 billion euros. This is at least partly due to the rise in commodity prices.
"Despite all the risks, we are seeing a certain recovery in the export economy at the moment," said Tiefensee. Thuringia also benefits from this very clearly. However, it is uncertain how long this recovery phase will last.
While new sales markets have so far been the focus of Thuringia's foreign trade policy, in future the import of primary products and materials for Thuringia's industry will be the focus. In the current crises, some of the supply chains from abroad have proven to be extremely fragile. Many Thuringian companies are therefore pushing for an expansion and stabilization of international supplier relationships, it said.
"We are now responding to this demand in foreign trade promotion by offering buyers' trips," announced Tiefensee. The first such buyer's trip will be offered within Europe this autumn. Instead of customers or business partners, potential raw material or pre-suppliers for the traveling Thuringian companies should be specifically addressed.
