Imports from Russia and Belarus fell sharply in August
According to Statistics Estonia, in August 2022, Estonia’s exports of goods increased by 20% and imports by 28% compared with August 2021. Imports from Russia fell by 55% and imports from Belarus by 96% year on year.
Estonia’s exports of goods amounted to nearly 1.9 billion and imports to almost 2.2 billion euros at current prices. The trade deficit was 288 million euros – it grew by 170 million euros and was over two times higher than in August last year.
Evelin Puura, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that, in August, exports and imports increased the most in trade with European Union (EU) countries. In trade with non-EU countries, there was a rise in exports, while imports decreased. The biggest fall occurred in imports from Russia and Belarus. “Compared with August 2021, there were several key commodities no longer imported from Belarus, including mineral products (incl. oils, bitumen), wood and articles of wood (incl. sawn timber, plywood), and base metals and articles of base metal (incl. wire, bars and rods, metal pipes). In imports from Russia, there has been a drastic decrease in the imports of mineral products (incl. oils, fuels) and there have been no imports of wood and articles of wood,” said Puura.
The main commodities exported in August were mineral fuels and electricity, electrical equipment, wood and articles of wood, and agricultural products and food preparations. Compared with August 2021, the biggest increase occurred in the exports of mineral fuels and electricity (up by 76 million euros), agricultural products and food preparations (up by 62 million euros), and machinery and mechanical appliances (up by 50 million euros). The biggest fall was registered in the exports of electrical equipment (down by 12 million euros).
The main partner country for Estonia’s exports of goods was Latvia, followed by Finland and Sweden. The main commodities exported were electricity and motor cars to Latvia, natural gas, engine parts and metal structures to Finland, and prefabricated wooden buildings and communication equipment to Sweden. The biggest increase occurred in exports to Latvia, India and Finland. “There were larger dispatches of electricity, scrap metal and motor cars to Latvia, greater exports of processed fuel oil to India, and bigger dispatches of natural gas and rape to Finland,” explained Puura.
Goods of Estonian origin accounted for 63% of the total exports of goods, down by 10% year on year. The exports of goods of Estonian origin have mainly been affected by the decreased exports of mineral products, communication equipment, and wood and articles of wood. Re-exports from Estonia grew by 67% and exports of domestic goods by 3% compared with August 2021.
The main commodities imported to Estonia were mineral fuels and electricity, electrical equipment, transport equipment, agricultural products and food preparations, and machinery and mechanical appliances. The imports of mineral fuels and electricity increased the most (up by 252 million euros), followed by imports of transport equipment (up by 73 million euros) and imports of electrical equipment (up by 54 million euros). The biggest decrease occurred in the imports of wood and articles of wood, which fell by 41 million euros.
The top partner countries for Estonia’s imports of goods were Finland, Lithuania and Latvia. The biggest rise was also recorded in imports from these countries. There were bigger imports of electricity, communication equipment and natural gas from Finland, greater imports of motor fuels from Lithuania, and bigger imports of natural gas and motor fuel from Latvia.
| Month | Exports, million euros | Imports, million euros | Balance, million euros | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2022 | Change, % | 2021 | 2022 | Change, % | 2021 | 2022 | |
| TOTAL | 11,457 | 14,051 | 23 | 12,658 | 16,365 | 29 | -1,202 | -2,314 |
| January | 1,187 | 1,619 | 36 | 1,305 | 1,774 | 36 | -118 | -155 |
| February | 1,254 | 1,487 | 19 | 1,325 | 1,774 | 34 | -71 | -287 |
| March | 1,464 | 1,977 | 35 | 1,654 | 2,160 | 31 | -190 | -183 |
| April | 1,538 | 1,599 | 4 | 1,639 | 2,118 | 29 | -101 | -518 |
| May | 1,473 | 1,936 | 31 | 1,648 | 2,215 | 34 | -174 | -279 |
| June | 1,465 | 1,848 | 26 | 1,722 | 2,129 | 24 | -257 | -281 |
| July | 1,503 | 1,702 | 13 | 1,676 | 2,025 | 21 | -173 | -322 |
| August | 1,572 | 1,883 | 20 | 1,690 | 2,171 | 28 | -118 | -288 |
| Country of destination, group of countries | Exports, million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % | Country of consignment, group of countries | Imports, million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | 1,883 | 100 | 20 | TOTAL | 2,171 | 100 | 28 |
| EU-27 | 1,264 | 67 | 21 | EU-27 | 1,772 | 82 | 50 |
| Euro area 19 | 960 | 51 | 22 | Euro area 19 | 1,371 | 63 | 52 |
| Non-EU | 618 | 33 | 18 | Non-EU | 398 | 18 | -21 |
| 1. Latvia | 340 | 18 | 103 | 1. Finland | 412 | 19 | 78 |
| 2. Finland | 272 | 14 | 21 | 2. Lithuania | 254 | 12 | 69 |
| 3. Sweden | 170 | 9 | 18 | 3. Latvia | 239 | 11 | 76 |
| 4. Lithuania | 108 | 6 | 28 | 4. Germany | 211 | 10 | 29 |
| 5. USA | 96 | 5 | -39 | 5. Sweden | 159 | 7 | 35 |
| 6. Germany | 91 | 5 | 3 | 6. Poland | 143 | 7 | 44 |
| 7. Russia | 66 | 4 | 14 | 7. Russia | 101 | 5 | -55 |
| 8. Norway | 66 | 3 | 45 | 8. China | 90 | 4 | 38 |
| 9. United Kingdom | 57 | 3 | -25 | 9. Netherlands | 81 | 4 | 5 |
| 10. India | 47 | 2 | 934 | 10. Italy | 44 | 2 | 21 |
| Commodity section (chapter) by Combined Nomenclature (CN) | Exports | Imports | Balance, million euros | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % | Million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % | ||
| TOTAL | 1,883 | 100 | 20 | 2,171 | 100 | 28 | -288 |
| Agricultural products and food preparations (I–IV) | 193 | 10 | 47 | 202 | 9 | 33 | -9 |
| Mineral products (V) | 417 | 22 | 22 | 558 | 26 | 82 | -141 |
| Raw materials and products of chemical industry (VI) | 80 | 4 | 16 | 168 | 8 | 18 | -88 |
| Articles of plastics and rubber (VII) | 50 | 3 | 6 | 101 | 5 | 3 | -50 |
| Wood and articles of wood (IX) | 186 | 10 | 13 | 58 | 3 | -41 | 128 |
| Paper and articles thereof (X) | 46 | 2 | 49 | 32 | 1 | 32 | 14 |
| Textile and textile articles (XI) | 39 | 2 | 21 | 74 | 3 | 21 | -36 |
| Base metals and articles of base metal (XV) | 153 | 8 | 48 | 170 | 8 | 0 | -18 |
| Machinery and mechanical appliances (84) | 147 | 8 | 34 | 195 | 9 | 28 | -48 |
| Electrical equipment (85) | 236 | 13 | -5 | 236 | 11 | 30 | 0 |
| Transport equipment (XVII) | 111 | 6 | 25 | 206 | 9 | 54 | -95 |
| Optical, measuring, precision instruments (XVIII) | 49 | 3 | 28 | 39 | 2 | 18 | 11 |
| Miscellaneous manufactured articles (XX) | 118 | 6 | 2 | 47 | 2 | 12 | 71 |
| Other | 58 | 3 | 8 | 84 | 4 | -10 | -26 |
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.
See also the foreign trade section on our website. Visualised data of Estonia’s foreign trade can be viewed in Statistics Estonia’s application.
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.
For further information:
Helen Maria Raadik
Media Relations Manager
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9191