Open up New Markets with Bavaria

The Bavarian State Government recognized the potential of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) at an early stage and has shown great commitment in the region. All companies based in Bavaria are able to benefit from the resulting close business relations and excellent contacts.

Bavarian companies are important partners for the business community in Central and Eastern Europe. Exports to these countries already account for over 12 percent of Bavaria’s total exports, and continuous dynamic development of trade can be expected in the future. In the year 2004, exports to the Central and Eastern European countries once again exceeded the previous year’s exports by 9.5 percent, amounting in € 14.5 billion. In particular, exports to Poland (+21.4 percent to € 2.3 billion) and Russia (+27.8 percent to € 1.9 billion) showed a robust increase. The success story of exports to the 10 new member states of the EU underlines the importance of Bavaria as the gateway to Central and Eastern Europe. In the period between 1993 and 2004 exports the CEE countries have increased fivefold from € 2.3 billion to € 10.7 billion.

Bavarian imports from Central and Eastern Europe indicate that trade relations are not one-sided. In 2004, Bavaria imported close to € 16 billion worth of goods from CEE countries, accounting for 17 percent of total imports into Bavaria. The most significant partners are the Czech Republic with sales of nearly € 4.6 billion, Hungary with over € 3.4 billion and the Russian Federation with over € 3.2 billion.

In the next few years, trade with the Central and Eastern European states is expected to continue expanding rapidly. For 2005, the European Commission is predicting economic growth to the tune of 4.25 percent in the ten new member states of Central and Eastern Europe. These rates are well above the current EU average of 1.6 percent.

Numerous programs and activities help Bavarian companies in the process of exploring new markets in Central and Eastern Europe. The Bavarian market also offers many opportunities for companies from Central and Eastern Europe. Invest in Bavaria, the business development and location marketing unit in the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, offers investors a one-stop-shop service package.

To complement the offers from the public sector, private companies also offer a broad spectrum of competencies for developing business relations in Central and Eastern Europe as well as in Bavaria.