German Small Arms, Ammunition Exports To Arab Region Increase 32 Folds

Although the overall German small weapons trade has decreased steadily falling by 42 per cent than previous year, the small arms and ammunition exports to Arab nations has increased 32 folds during the same period.

With the German ammunition sales have been increasing, it is rather unclear about what the trend might represent.

According to the German government figures announced last week, it had given a considerably lower number of small arms exports authorizations in the first half of the year than in previous years.

The figures when compared to numbers published by the German Ministry of Economic Affairs at the same time last year, the small weapons export permits given have reduced by 42 per cent amounting to 12.4 million euros ($13.9 million). This shows a downward trend and as the biggest decrease in the German small arms trade in the past 15 years.

Ammunition exports however saw an increase of 50 per cent during the same period to about 27 million euros.

“A downward trend is expected in small weapons sales under the new guidelines in the future,” Minister of Economic Affairs Sigmar Gabriel was quoted as saying by Reuters earlier last week.

German has incidentally had a 32 fold increase in sales of small arms and ammunition exports to the Arab region for the first half of 2015 amounting to 7.9 million euros ($9 million) compared to the same period in the previous year, Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported Saturday, citing German Ministry for Economic Affairs.

Based on the response given to an inquiry by left-wing Die Linke party, the German Ministry for Economic Affairs stated German exports of small arms to the Arab states for the first half of 2014 stood at some 246,000 euros in the first half of 2014.

The newspaper reported that the German exports included not only small arms but also spare parts for it, as well as ammunition.

Ongoing conflicts and civil wars in the Arab region might have sparked the increase in exports to the middle-east.

The left-wing party has criticized Sigmar Gabriel for exports of weaponry to the Middle East, the news daily reported.