Germany: Food Service - Hotel Restaurant Institutional Annual

With almost 84 million of the world's wealthiest consumers, Germany is the largest market for food and agricultural products in the European Union. The German market offers good opportunities for U.S. exporters of consumer-oriented food and agriculture products, particularly nuts, fish and seafood products, dried fruits, bakery products, and pulses. Germany's HRI sector continues to face challenges: In 2024, the sector's real turnover was 2.6 percent lower than in 2023 and still 13.1 percent below what it was in 2019, the last year before the pandemic hit. Hotels, restaurants, and institutions are still suffering from increasing costs for personnel, food, and energy prices as well as a restoration of the Value Added Tax (VAT) rate to 19 percent.