Official figures show that German exports shot up at an annual rate of 28.8% in May, the biggest rise in 10 years.
But imports also rose by 34.3%, the biggest leap since January 1989, the Destatis statistics office said.
As a result, the trade surplus for Europe's biggest economy fell in May to €9.7 billion from €13.1 billion the previous month.
On a monthly basis, exports gained a seasonally-adjusted 9.2%, while imports climbed by 14.8%, Destatis said. This was the biggest monthly increase in imports since the office began compiling seasonally-adjusted data following German reunification in 1990.
Separate figures showed that German industrial output powered ahead in May, in further evidence that Europe's top economy is recovering from recession.
Production rose by a better than expected 2.6% from the level in April, the economy ministry said, offering some cheer after industrial orders posted a surprise drop on Wednesday. Economists had expected a rise of just 1%.
In April, production rose by 1.2%, the ministry said, upwardly revising its initial estimate of 0.9%.
