Germany 's GDP growth makes country attractive trading prospect
By Claudia Congrave
Access to the European market and significant GDP growth were highlighted as just a few benefits of trading with Germany, in an event hosted by the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC).
The event was hosted jointly with the German-British Chamber of Industry and Commerce and welcomed speakers from both of the respective chambers, as well as the FrankfurtRheinMain GmbH, the economic development agency for the region.
With approximately three million companies established across Germany, more than 800 of which are German-British ventures, the event provided valuable insight into the benefits of more UK businesses beginning to trade within the 'Heart of Europe '.
Sven Rlemann, head of marketing services at the German-British Chamber of Industry and Commerce, began by explaining the current trade relationship between UK and Germany.
Germany 's exports to the UK currently sit at six per cent compared to nine per cent to the US.
In terms of imports, the majority of trade comes from China and sits at 11 per cent, compared to just three per cent from the UK.
For businesses looking to dip into this gap of opportunity, Sven recommended exploring the options for dealing with German clients, encouraging the use of agents or local distributors to bridge the gap in operations.
When looking to distributors, he also highlighted the importance of researching dominant players in the German market.
Representing the FrankfurtRheinMain region was Kasturi Dadhe, director for India and UK at the FrankfurtRheinMain GmbH.
Ranking as the most dynamic German region for more than 10 years, FrankfurtRheinMain has a GDP growth of 23.8 per cent.
With more than 1,100 foreign investments and a diverse talent pool, Kasturi assured businesses that the region has continued to flourish despite the impact of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, thus making it an attractive business hub.
Director of AJS Metals, Carl Stanton, discussed how their move to trading with Germany had resulted in an export of 7,500 tonnes of alloy a year.
Particularly in the pandemic, Carl felt that AJS 's established relationship with Germany had put him at an advantage, particularly where the German market largely continued where the UK came to a halt.
This increased their trade to Germany to around 95 per cent.
Carl said: “Trading with Germany has been very lucrative for our company and it 's the main reason for our growth in the last 15-20 years. We have experience some difficulties, with paperwork for example, but documentations services from the Chamber have helped a lot and that now flows a lot more smoothly. ”
“My advice to companies entering this new market is that the quality has to be right. German companies value the quality of your product and also the efficiency with documentation.
“Payment is also quicker in Germany than in the UK. In difficult times especially, cash flow is very important. ”
The FrankfurtRheinMain GmbH described themselves as the ground crew for any companies looking to follow suit and 'put shovel to sand ' with regards to German trade.
Eric Menges, chief executive officer at the FrankfurtRheinMain GmbH, said: “It 's not about leaving the UK and moving your business to Germany. It 's about adding resources and expanding your client base. ”