85 per cent of the military export went to countries in the South. The chief part of German armament industry is private property. Nevertheless, it is highly State-aided by credits, government guaranteed loans, other subsidies, and an increasing improper use of means meant for development aid. German arms export has grown fast. At the moment every tenth large weapon traded internationally comes from Germany.
Many countries now regard Germany as the most important source of conventional arms.
And yet, according to Frankfurter Rundschau, the armament industry has lately intensified the pressure to have the existing export restrictions abolished. In 1993, however, the Russian export stayed at the same level as in 1992, and comprehensive agreements about arms deliveries to china and Government statements about the necessity of doubling the export of arms in order to get foreign exchange indicate that we shall see a strongly increased export of arms in the years to come. Since 1991, China has been fourth among the world's arms suppliers and in view of the present political development and growing economic interest in China a reduction of the arms export is hardly to be expected. Spain, e.g., that has good export connections with Arab, Latin American, and African countries has now begun to increase its export by means of credits from the humanitarian aid. Thus Morocco recently received arms to the value of 1.3 million German marks from Spain.