Germany's exports increased by 12.5 percent year-on-year to 221.9 billion euros (about 288.47 billion U.S. dollars) in the third quarter of 2006, the Federal Statistics Office reported on Thursday.

The country's exports to the European Union (EU) member states rose 11.9 percent to 135.6 billion euros, said the Wiesbaden-based government agency.

Germany's exports to Romania and Bulgaria, which will join the EU on Jan. 1, 2007, increased sharply.

Exports from Germany to Romania rose by 33.2 percent to 1.9 billion euros in the year that ended in the third quarter of 2006, and those to Bulgaria were up 18.6 percent to 600 million euros, the report said.

Exports to the ten new member states of the EU, which acceded on May 1, 2004, were up 24.4 percent to 21.2 billion euros.

Meanwhile, Germany's imports registered a robust 16.2 percent increase, to 181.8 billion euros, in the third quarter of 2006, compared with the same period last year.

Imports from EU countries logged a smaller increase of 14.3 percent, to 103 billion euros.

Due to rising import prices for mineral oil and natural gas, imports from Norway and Russia in particular rose respectively 36.1 percent to 5.2 billion euros and 35.9 percent to 7.6 billion euros.

Imports from the United States increased 17 percent to 12.1 billion euros, somewhat stronger than average. And those from Japan rose by 11.3 percent to 5.8 billion euros.

Source: Xinhua