Foreign trade increased slightly in October, exports of goods of Estonian origin decreased
According to Statistics Estonia, in October 2025, exports of goods increased by 5% and imports by 4% compared with October 2024. Exports of goods amounted to over 1.7 billion euros and imports to more than 2 billion euros at current prices. The share of goods of Estonian origin in total exports declined a little.
In October, the trade deficit was 323 million euros, which is 8 million euros less than in October last year.
Jane Leppmets, foreign trade analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that the share of goods of Estonian origin in total exports fell by five percentage points year on year and was 61% in October this year. “Exports of goods of Estonian origin in October were down by 3% from October last year. Re-exports of goods, i.e. the exports of previously imported goods, grew by 19% year on year. This growth resulted mainly from the increased re-exports of mineral products, including natural gas, and agricultural products and food preparations,” added Leppmets.
Finland is still the leading trade partner in exports
The main commodities exported in October were electrical equipment (14% of Estonia’s total exports), agricultural products and food preparations (13%), and wood and articles of wood (10%). Compared with October 2024, the biggest rise occurred in the exports of mineral products (up by 24 million euros, or 21%) and the greatest fall was recorded in the exports of electrical equipment (down by 18 million euros, or 7%).
Estonia’s top export partner in October was Finland (14% of total exports), followed by Latvia (13%) and Sweden (9%). The main commodities exported were electrical equipment to Finland and Sweden and mineral products to Latvia. The biggest rise year on year was recorded in exports to Latvia (up by 21 million euros), with increased dispatches of transport equipment. Exports to the United States declined the most, by 27 million euros, as there were fewer exports of electrical equipment. “Exports of goods to the United States have been in decline for a few months now,” explained Leppmets.
Imports of agricultural products and food preparations grew the most
The main commodities imported in October were electrical equipment (13% of Estonia’s total imports), agricultural products and food preparations (also 13%), and transport equipment (12%). Compared with October 2024, the biggest increase occurred in the imports of agricultural products and food preparations (up by 19 million euros, or 8%), while the imports of transport equipment decreased the most (down by 47 million euros, or 17%). Leppmets noted that the fall in the imports of transport equipment can be explained by the high reference base – in October last year, imports of these goods were significantly higher than usual.
The top partner countries for Estonia’s imports of goods were Finland (13% of total imports), Germany (11%) and Latvia (10%). The main commodities imported were mineral products from Finland, transport equipment from Germany, and agricultural products and food preparations from Latvia. Imports from the Netherlands grew the most (by 30 million euros), as there were more arrivals of mineral products than in October last year. The biggest fall occurred in imports from Finland (down by 21 million euros) and Poland (down by 19 million euros). There were fewer arrivals of mineral products from Finland and decreased imports of transport equipment from Poland.
Month | Exports, million euros | Imports, million euros | Balance, million euros | |||||
2024 | 2025 | Change, % | 2024 | 2025 | Change, % | 2024 | 2025 | |
TOTAL | 14,476 | 15,427 | 7 | 17,221 | 18,627 | 8 | -2,745 | -3,200 |
January | 1,336 | 1,500 | 12 | 1,580 | 1,851 | 17 | -244 | -352 |
February | 1,320 | 1,469 | 11 | 1,580 | 1,764 | 12 | -260 | -295 |
March | 1,457 | 1,704 | 17 | 1,704 | 1,969 | 16 | -247 | -265 |
April | 1,523 | 1,579 | 4 | 1,861 | 1,918 | 3 | -339 | -339 |
May | 1,545 | 1,580 | 2 | 1,748 | 1,863 | 7 | -203 | -283 |
June | 1,362 | 1,442 | 6 | 1,670 | 1,801 | 8 | -308 | -359 |
July | 1,316 | 1,418 | 8 | 1,682 | 1,858 | 10 | -366 | -440 |
| August | 1,458 | 1,426 | -2 | 1,658 | 1,669 | 1 | -201 | -243 |
| September | 1,515 | 1,586 | 5 | 1,761 | 1,887 | 7 | -246 | -301 |
| October | 1,645 | 1,723 | 5 | 1,976 | 2,046 | 4 | -331 | -323 |
| Country of destination, group of countries | Exports, million euros | Share, % | Change on same month of previous year, % | Country of consignment, group of countries | Imports, million euros | Share, % | Change on same month of previous year, % |
| TOTAL | 1,723 | 100 | 5 | TOTAL | 2,046 | 100 | 4 |
| EU-27 | 1,308 | 76 | 9 | EU-27 | 1,626 | 79 | -1 |
| Euro area 20 | 946 | 55 | 8 | Euro area 20 | 1,227 | 60 | 1 |
| Non-EU | 415 | 24 | -7 | Non-EU | 421 | 21 | 26 |
| 1. Finland | 242 | 14 | -4 | 1. Finland | 257 | 13 | -8 |
| 2. Latvia | 220 | 13 | 11 | 2. Germany | 219 | 11 | -4 |
| 3. Sweden | 151 | 9 | 8 | 3. Latvia | 195 | 10 | 2 |
| 4. Lithuania | 143 | 8 | 14 | 4. Lithuania | 177 | 9 | 1 |
| 5. Germany | 120 | 7 | 10 | 5. Poland | 149 | 7 | -11 |
| 6. Poland | 75 | 4 | 16 | 6. Netherlands | 140 | 7 | 27 |
| 7. Norway | 55 | 3 | 9 | 7. Sweden | 132 | 6 | -11 |
| 8. Netherlands | 53 | 3 | -16 | 8. China | 75 | 4 | -2 |
| 9. USA | 50 | 3 | -35 | 9. Italy | 63 | 3 | 18 |
| 10. Denmark | 48 | 3 | -12 | 10. Switzerland | 60 | 3 | 81 |
| Commodity section (chapter) by Combined Nomenclature (CN) | Exports | Imports | Balance | ||||
Million euros | Share, % | Change on same month of previous year, % | Million euros | Share, % | Change on same month of previous year, % | Million euros | |
| TOTAL | 1,723 | 100 | 5 | 2,046 | 100 | 4 | -323 |
| Agricultural products and food preparations (I–IV) | 221 | 13 | -4 | 263 | 13 | 8 | -42 |
| Mineral products (V) | 138 | 8 | 21 | 177 | 9 | -4 | -39 |
| Raw materials and products of chemical industry (VI) | 85 | 5 | 9 | 182 | 9 | 6 | -97 |
| Articles of plastics and rubber (VII) | 48 | 3 | 1 | 97 | 5 | -2 | -49 |
| Wood and articles of wood (IX) | 181 | 10 | -4 | 69 | 3 | 11 | 111 |
| Paper and articles thereof (X) | 28 | 2 | -19 | 30 | 1 | 6 | -2 |
| Textiles and textile articles (XI) | 40 | 2 | 11 | 70 | 3 | 0 | -30 |
| Base metals and articles of base metal (XV) | 128 | 7 | 0 | 196 | 9 | 8 | -68 |
| Machinery and mechanical appliances (84) | 156 | 9 | 15 | 174 | 8 | 9 | -18 |
| Electrical equipment (85) | 244 | 14 | -7 | 266 | 13 | 1 | -23 |
| Transport equipment (XVII) | 155 | 9 | 5 | 237 | 12 | -17 | -82 |
| Optical, measuring, precision instruments (XVIII) | 47 | 3 | -17 | 51 | 3 | 14 | -4 |
| Miscellaneous manufactured articles (XX) | 123 | 7 | 15 | 54 | 3 | 0 | 69 |
| Other | 130 | 8 | 62 | 178 | 9 | 41 | -48 |
Starting from 2025, Statistics Estonia prepares EU imports statistics using detailed data and estimates from other Member States concerning their exports to Estonia. The data are validated by Statistics Estonia and combined with administrative data. 2025 data based on the new methodology were first published on 12 March 2025. Read more about the changes here (in Estonian).
Statistics Estonia performs the statistical activity “Foreign trade” for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications with the aim to determine how exporting and importing enterprises are performing in Estonia.
Data as at 10 December are published. The indicator values may change if there are any revisions made in the data sources after this date.
See also the foreign trade section on our website. Statistics Estonia’s foreign trade application provides visualised foreign trade data for Estonia.
More detailed data have been published in the statistical database. Due to rounding, the sum of rows in some tables may differ from the sum total of the column.
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