Spain set to re-enter Germany's top 10 export markets as shipments jump

By Rene Wagner and Maria Martinez

BERLIN, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Spain is set to become the fastest-growing destination among Germany's 10 biggest export markets in 2025, with shipments forecast to rise 8.5% to 58.8 billion euros ($69.31 billion), a Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI) projection seen by Reuters on Tuesday showed.

The increase would lift Spain into 10th place among German customers for the first time since 2009, the forecast showed.

Spain's real economic growth, forecast to be just under 2.9% for 2025 is significantly above Germany's 0.3%, OECD forecasts show, boosting demand for German goods and pushing bilateral trade volumes close to 100 billion euros, the agency said.

"German companies are also benefiting from the good economic situation," said Friedrich Henle, GTAI's foreign representative in Madrid, pointing to private consumption as a key driver of growth in Spain, supported by a tourism boom and higher immigration.

Spanish imports of investment goods are growing strongly this year, Oxford Economics' chief Europe economist Angel Talavera said, adding that Germany's export mix is well suited to the shift.

($1 = 0.8484 euros)