In 2025, Germany exported goods worth 961.6 million euros to Iran, representing a 24.5% decrease compared to the previous year, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). From Iran, Germany imported goods valued at 234.5 million euros, marking an increase of 1.7% year-on-year. Looking back further, in 2025, German exports to Iran were down 64.3% from 2018, and imports were down 46.8%. The figures for 2018 showed German exports to Iran at 2.7 billion euros, with imports from Iran at 440.8 million euros. These older figures were set against the backdrop of comprehensive US sanctions against Iran being reinstated at the end of 2018, which impacted global trade with the country.
In terms of trade partners, Iran ranked 72nd in 2025 for German exports, placed after Cyprus and before Oman. This was a decline from its rank of 68 the previous year. For imports, Iran ranked 99th among Germany’s key trading partners in 2025 (compared to 97th in 2024). In 2018, Iran held the 80th position for German imports.
Germany recorded an overall export surplus with Iran in 2025, exporting goods worth 727.1 million euros more than it imported. This figure contrasts with the export surplus of 1.0 billion euros in 2024, and 2.3 billion euros in 2018.
Regarding specific goods, machinery was the most valuable export from Germany to Iran in 2025, valued at 248.4 million euros, which was 33.6% lower than the previous year. Other significant exports included pharmaceutical products, worth 228.7 million euros (-8.9%), and chemical products, valued at 141.8 million euros (-22.8%).
Iranian imports in 2025 were primarily composed of foodstuffs, accounting for 153.9 million euros, which made up almost two-thirds (65.6%) of the total Iranian imports. Pistachios without shells were the main component in this sector, valued at 78.0 million euros. Following these were pharmaceutical products at 23.8 million euros, and textiles, such as woolen or fine animal hair rugs, valued at 17.4 million euros, and 12.6 million euros for the latter.
The trade figures also show recent trends: in the period from January to February 2026, exports to Iran totaled 102.3 million euros, a 48.5% drop compared to the same period the previous year. Imports from Iran during those first two months were 37.0 million euros, an increase of 1.9% year-on-year.
Concerning the number of businesses involved, 2,556 enterprises were involved in Germany’s trade with Iran in 2024, representing a 61.4% decrease from the 6,630 companies involved in 2018. For imports, the number of companies bringing goods from Iran into Germany fell to 1,152 in 2024, down from 1,719 in 2018 (a decrease of about a third). Similarly, the number of companies exporting goods to Iran decreased from 5,352 in 2018 to 1,504 in 2024.
