Brandenburg sets the course for a sustainable export economy

Dialogue process launched for the strategic realignment of the foreign trade concept - follow-up event on October 9

Potsdam, July 3, 2025 - Under the motto "Strategically aligning foreign trade - strengthening Brandenburg's positioning on the world markets", the state of Brandenburg and the state working group of chambers of industry and commerce (IHKs) today launched a comprehensive dialog process to revise the 2018 foreign trade concept.

Today's event at the IHK Potsdam brought together representatives from business, the state government and the chambers to discuss current challenges and opportunities for Brandenburg's export industry and to jointly develop key content for the new Brandenburg foreign trade concept.

"Persistent supply chain problems, geopolitical crises and the increasing focus on resilient and sustainable foreign trade strategies require a realignment of the state strategy." This is what Jens Warnken, President of the Cottbus Chamber of Industry and Commerce and Chairman of the State Working Group of the Brandenburg Chambers of Industry and Commerce, had to say.

The discussion focused on the latest results of the nationwide Chamber of Industry and Commerce survey "Going International", Brandenburg's foreign trade statistics and the resulting action plans for more momentum in the export industry. The internationalization potential for Brandenburg is still high, but positive developments in recent years are mainly based on the international trade of a few large companies in the region.

"The feedback from export companies clearly shows that there is an urgent need for action in areas such as market development, reducing bureaucracy, digitalization and export financing," explains IHK President Jens Warnken. "We have a lot of work ahead of us, but despite all these challenges, there are many opportunities for the state, in cooperation with the business community, to position Brandenburg's foreign trade sector for the future," he emphasizes.

The dialogue on the realignment of Brandenburg's foreign trade concept will continue on 9 October.

Facts and figures - Brandenburg results of the nationwide IHK survey "Going International: From deep valleys to new peaks? Challenges and opportunities for Brandenburg's foreign trade in 2025"

The DIHK survey "Going International 2025" shows that Brandenburg's foreign trade is facing major challenges. Reliable markets such as the EU, USA and China offer increasingly poorer opportunities, according to the internationally active companies surveyed. Every second exporting company in Brandenburg complains about problems in foreign business. The biggest obstacles: Certification requirements, safety specifications, bureaucracy, sanctions and customs duties. These problems are perceived by companies primarily in the European Union.

Flexible funding structures and support in the reorganization of foreign trade are crucial to counteract this. If market access is actually changing, this should be exploited, for example by expanding relations with Poland and the UK and promoting free trade agreements with countries in South America, Asia and the Pacific. It is also important to differentiate contacts and establish new partnerships in Africa, Asia and Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. Strengthening representation at the federal level and in Brussels as well as new exchange formats could make Brandenburg's voice more effective.

It remains exciting to see how exports will develop: In 2024, two EU countries topped Brandenburg's export ranking: First and foremost, neighboring Poland with export growth of 7.3 percent. Poland is therefore the most important trading partner. It was followed by the Netherlands and the United States in third place. Poland also played a leading role in imports, with growth of one percent to EUR 4.6 billion. The second most important import country was China (EUR 4.2 billion; -4.7 percent). Imports of goods from the United Kingdom rose considerably by 60.1% to EUR 1.5 billion, putting it in third place.

Brandenburg's export volume rose by 1.7% to EUR 24 billion in 2024 compared to the previous year. At EUR 25.2 billion, imports were higher than exports - but fell slightly (-0.2 percent). Despite all the challenges that the export industry has had to overcome in recent years, the export ratio in Brandenburg is developing well: in 2024, it was 48.7%, while the national average was just over 52%. This puts Brandenburg in 11th place compared to the rest of Germany

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