German food industry grows again for the first time in three years
Slight increase in sales thanks to exports - location problems remain the main brake on growth
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According to preliminary figures, the German food industry achieved a slight increase in real turnover in 2025 for the first time in three years. With nominal growth of 3.9%, which corresponds to 0.2% in real terms, the industry was able to leave the recession of previous years just behind. The growth is based on the export business, while the domestic market continued to decline in real terms. This is shown by the provisional annual figures of the Federation of German Food and Drink Industries (BVE).
With 6,082 companies (+1.8 percent), 659,605 employees (+2.3 percent) and an annual turnover of around 241.8 billion euros, the food industry is now the third largest industrial sector in Germany. The sector also occupies a leading position in Europe and is the largest food industry within the European Union in terms of turnover and employment.
Exports drive growth - domestic market remains under pressure
The real increase in turnover in 2025 is attributable to foreign business. Exports increased by 9% in nominal terms and by 3.9% in price-adjusted terms, thus developing significantly better than in many other industrial sectors.
In contrast, domestic business once again suffered losses. Although nominal sales rose by 1.0%, price-adjusted sales fell by 1.9%. This continues the weakness of the domestic market and underlines the ongoing structural challenges in Germany.
The challenging situation is also reflected in investment activity. In recent years, there has been a noticeable reduction in capital stock in the food industry - more than in the manufacturing sector as a whole and also more than in the energy-intensive industries.
Flash survey: location assessment remains negative
This assessment is confirmed by the current BVE flash survey on the economic situation in the food industry, in which 98 food and beverage manufacturers took part. According to the survey, 81% of the companies surveyed see a deterioration in the location conditions in Germany over the past five years Excessive bureaucracy, a lack of planning security, high costs at the location and a lack of reforms have made Germany much less attractive as a business location in recent years.
There was a slight improvement in the propensity to invest compared to the previous year: 20% want to increase investments in Germany in the next 2 to 3 years (in real terms), 40% want to continue them at the same level, while 34% want to reduce them and 6% want to stop them completely for an indefinite period. In the previous year's survey, only 10% wanted to increase their investments and 43% wanted to reduce them.
Companies were particularly critical of the areas of regulation and bureaucracy, taxes and duties, energy prices as well as labor and unit labor costs. However, many manufacturers believe that Germany still has good sales potential as a business location.
Political tailwind and confidence in their own strength
BVE Managing Director Christoph Minhoff sees a clear positive sign in the export situation: "Our companies have shown how capable they are in 2025: Despite Trump tariffs and despite African swine fever, exports increased significantly. Food Made in Germany is once again a strong seal of quality." There is also a new, cooperative attitude in federal politics. "Politicians are talking to the economy again and not about it. They once again see themselves as door openers for new markets - from the Federal Chancellor to the Foreign Minister to Food Minister Alois Rainer, who knows our industry from the ground up and is committed to the food industry in Berlin, Brussels, China and wherever we need new market opportunities," says Christoph Minhoff.
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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