Made in Rhineland-Palatinate

The Romans founded the first trading centers in our region as early as 2,000 years ago. Today, some 400,000 Rhineland-Palatinate residents are employed in the trade and services sector, generating annual sales of around 70 billion euros. Foreign trade is of particular importance for the Rhineland-Palatinate economy. The drivers of export growth were pharmaceutical products, food and animal feed, and machinery. The three most important trading partners are France, the Netherlands, and the USA, followed by China.

From the invention of letterpress printing with movable type by Johannes Gutenberg to the bentwood technology of Michael Thonet and the impressionist works of Max Slevogt: Rhineland-Palatinate's cultural and creative industries have been a source of inspiration and innovation for centuries and provide impetus for improving the quality of life. The diversity ranges from the architecture market, the book market, the design industry, the film industry, the art market, the performing arts market, the music industry, the press market, the broadcasting industry, the advertising market to arts and crafts and fashion, whose most dedicated representative Anja Gockel stands for extravagance with a down-to-earth approach. The software and games industry, with renowned studios such as Ubisoft Mainz, is also one of the important drivers of the cultural and creative industries.

Idar-Oberstein is one of the world’s most important centers of the jewelry and gemstone industry and boasts a 500-year tradition involving more than 350 companies, where around 1,500 skilled workers process some of the world’s most expensive raw materials. There is nowhere else in the world’s gemstone industry where expertise, instruction and training, production and trade, and service and research are so closely intertwined and concentrated in one place in the way they are in Rhineland-Palatinate.

Even in Rhineland-Palatinate, it doesn’t always have to be wine. A total of 16 mineral water companies, numerous breweries, fruit juice producers, and leading makers of confectionery and snacks, frozen foods, and baked goods make Rhineland-Palatinate a leading location for Europe’s food and beverage industry. More than 42,000 people are employed in the food industry, which is more than twice the national average.

Some 7.9 million visitors come to Rhineland-Palatinate every year – and the trend is toward longer and longer stays, with almost 200 million days spent there per year now. To ensure that everyone has a pleasant time, 150,000 employees make sure that all the plates and glasses are filled, all the beds are made, and all the rooms are clean. And it’s definitely worth the region’s while, generating industry revenue of more than 7 billion euros annually.

Wines from Rhineland-Palatinate are among the best in the world. This is not by chance, as viticulture has a long tradition that dates back to Roman times here, making it an integral part of our state. More than 25 white wine varieties and 15 red wine varieties are grown over more than 64,000 hectares of vineyards spread across six wine growing regions. Viticulture requires everything that we see today as key to a modern economy: sustainability, adaptability, open-mindedness, expertise, and astute cultivation of traditions.