BGA President Anton Boerner said he expected imports to jump slightly more than 10 percent, while exports would rise at their long-term average of 7 percent this year.
"Imports will rise more than exports because of the rising prices for raw materials, and I don't see any stop in the rising prices," Boerner told Reuters in an interview.
"Politicians worldwide have to tackle this issue as it is important for the whole world economy, not only for Germany."
Germany, China's biggest trading partner in the European Union, has accused Beijing of curbing supply of raw materials. Obtaining rare earths from China needed to make high-tech products is a particular bone of contention in Germany.
Boerner said it was a mistake to attribute the rise in imports to stronger private consumption, adding that he did not expect this to rise significantly in 2011 due to "a lot of unresolved news" such as the euro zone debt crisis.
Germany's trade surplus narrowed in November as imports gained more than expected, official data showed earlier on Friday, although separate numbers on retail sales showed a surprise dip in the same month.
Boerner said other risks to German trade would be problems in the Chinese economy sparked by inflation and the inability of the United States and EU to manage their debt crises.
Market pressure was so great that EU leaders would likely resolve the debt crisis in the middle of the year, he added.
He said the euro would not collapse and saw it trading at between $1.20 and $1.40-45 in 2011. He stuck to his forecast Germany's economy would grow by 1.5 to 1.75 percent this year.
Germany in Demand
Boerner said he expected Germany to have recovered 90 percent of its pre-crisis trade levels by the end of 2010.
Europe's largest economy is expected to have grown by between 3 and 4 percent in 2010, emerging quickly from its deepest post-war recession and leaving behind peers in the euro zone still in, or on the brink of, recession.
While German exports to the EU still make up the bulk of exports, trade with countries outside the bloc is increasing. In November, more than 40 percent of total exports went to non-EU countries and about 37 percent of imports came from them.
"Germany stands more to benefit from emerging markets expansion as we are very strong in the sectors demanded by these countries," Boerner said.
However, he added the EU would remain Germany's main trade partner for "many, many years". Demand from emerging markets was stimulating German growth, which in turn led to increased demand for products made elsewhere in Europe, Boerner said.
A potential brake on growth was a lack of skilled workers, Boerner said, which was particularly acute in Germany due to its focus on high-tech sectors and on research and development.
"We have to put more emphasis on recruiting and motivating people from other countries like Canada and Australia, which is politically not so easy, however, because the average German is not so keen on opening borders," he said.
The political debate over the lack of skilled workers has sparked tensions within Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right coalition, with some leaders stridently rejecting any relaxation of immigration laws. (Reuters)
