In January, exports of goods were up by 4% and imports down by 2%
According to Statistics Estonia, in January 2026, exports of goods increased by 4% and imports decreased by 2% compared with January 2025. Exports of goods amounted to nearly 1.6 billion euros and imports to more than 1.8 billion euros at current prices. The trade deficit was 247 million euros, which is 103 million euros less than a year earlier.
Evelin Puura, the Foreign Trade Statistics Service Manager at Statistics Estonia, said that intra-EU trade increased in January, with exports up by 11% and imports by 2% year on year. “On the other hand, in trade with non-EU countries, exports of goods fell by 16% and imports by 20%. The main reason was that there were larger exports of fuels to Singapore in January last year and also a large one-off transaction with Turkey in import trade,” added Puura.
Exports of precious metals grew the most in January
The main commodities exported in January were electrical equipment (14% of Estonia’s total exports), agricultural products and food preparations (13%), wood and articles of wood (11%) and mineral products (11%). Mineral products include, for example, electricity, natural gas and various fuels and fuel oils. Compared with January 2025, the biggest increase occurred in the exports of precious metals, including gold and coin (up by 44 million euros), and agricultural products and food preparations, including wheat and linseed (up by 23 million euros). The biggest fall was seen in the exports of transport equipment – down by 11 million euros, or 9%.
Re-exports, i.e. the exports of previously imported goods, increased by 13% in January year on year, while exports of goods of Estonian origin decreased by 1%. In January this year, goods of Estonian origin accounted for 63% of Estonia’s total exports – this share fell by three percentage points year on year. The biggest decrease was recorded in the exports of mineral products (including peat) of Estonian origin.
Estonia’s top export partner in January was Finland (18% of total exports), followed by Latvia (11%) and Sweden (9%). The top commodities exported were mineral products to Finland and Latvia and electrical equipment to Sweden. The biggest increase was seen in exports of goods to Latvia (up by 42 million euros, or 34%), while the biggest decrease occurred in exports to Singapore (down by 35 million euros, or 96%). Compared with January 2025, there were more exports of mineral products to Latvia and fewer dispatches of these products to Singapore.
Imports of transport equipment declined the most
The main commodities imported in January were mineral products (14% of Estonia’s total imports), electrical equipment (14%) and agricultural products and food preparations (13%). Year on year, the biggest fall was seen in the imports of transport equipment – down by 78 million euros, or 30%. The largest increase was recorded in the imports of mineral products, including electricity (up by 48 million euros, or 23%).
Estonia’s top import partner in January was Latvia (14% of total imports), followed by Finland (13%) and Germany (10%). The main commodities imported were mineral products from Latvia and Finland, and transport equipment from Germany. Year on year, the biggest decrease occurred in imports of goods from Turkey (down by 60 million euros, or 87%), with fewer arrivals of transport equipment. Imports of goods from Finland increased the most, by 50 million euros (26%), due to greater imports of mineral products.
Estonia's foreign trade by month, 2024–2026
| Exports | Imports | Exports of goods of Estonian origin | Balance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2024 | 1.336 | 1.575 | 0.874 | -0.240 |
| February 2024 | 1.320 | 1.578 | 0.918 | -0.258 |
| March 2024 | 1.457 | 1.705 | 0.994 | -0.248 |
| April 2024 | 1.523 | 1.863 | 0.984 | -0.341 |
| May 2024 | 1.545 | 1.735 | 1.014 | -0.190 |
| June 2024 | 1.361 | 1.670 | 0.887 | -0.309 |
| July 2024 | 1.316 | 1.684 | 0.849 | -0.368 |
| August 2024 | 1.456 | 1.660 | 0.919 | -0.203 |
| September 2024 | 1.514 | 1.765 | 0.972 | -0.251 |
| October 2024 | 1.645 | 1.976 | 1.087 | -0.331 |
| November 2024 | 1.562 | 1.792 | 1.021 | -0.230 |
| December 2024 | 1.327 | 1.742 | 0.857 | -0.415 |
| January 2025 | 1.499 | 1.849 | 0.987 | -0.350 |
| February 2025 | 1.469 | 1.764 | 0.957 | -0.294 |
| March 2025 | 1.705 | 1.973 | 1.107 | -0.268 |
| April 2025 | 1.577 | 1.924 | 0.991 | -0.347 |
| May 2025 | 1.581 | 1.868 | 1.008 | -0.287 |
| June 2025 | 1.438 | 1.800 | 0.926 | -0.361 |
| July 2025 | 1.414 | 1.857 | 0.838 | -0.444 |
| August 2025 | 1.421 | 1.675 | 0.914 | -0.254 |
| September 2025 | 1.584 | 1.898 | 1.012 | -0.313 |
| October 2025 | 1.724 | 2.070 | 1.055 | -0.346 |
| November 2025 | 1.619 | 1.938 | 1.015 | -0.319 |
| December 2025 | 1.546 | 1.787 | 0.951 | -0.242 |
| January 2026 | 1.557 | 1.804 | 0.978 | -0.247 |
Estonia’s foreign trade by month, 2025–2026
| Month | Exports, million euros | Imports, million euros | Balance, million euros | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2026 | Change, % | 2025 | 2026 | Change, % | 2025 | 2026 | |
January | 1,499 | 1,557 | 4 | 1,849 | 1,804 | -2 | -350 | -247 |
| 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 | 1,557 | 100 | 4 | TOTAL | 1,804 | 100 | -2 |
| EU-27 | 1,210 | 78 | 11 | EU-27 | 1,523 | 84 | 2 |
| Euro area 21 | 921 | 59 | 11 | Euro area 21 | 1,187 | 66 | 3 |
| Non-EU | 347 | 22 | -16 | Non-EU | 281 | 16 | -20 |
| 1. Finland | 274 | 18 | 6 | 1. Latvia | 260 | 14 | 2 |
| 2. Latvia | 169 | 11 | 34 | 2. Finland | 241 | 13 | 26 |
| 3. Sweden | 141 | 9 | 11 | 3. Germany | 186 | 10 | -13 |
| 4. Lithuania | 110 | 7 | -5 | 4. Lithuania | 161 | 9 | -13 |
| 5. Germany | 108 | 7 | 0 | 5. Netherlands | 132 | 7 | 29 |
| 6. Poland | 65 | 4 | 7 | 6. Poland | 124 | 7 | -12 |
| 7. Netherlands | 64 | 4 | -23 | 7. Sweden | 119 | 7 | -2 |
| 8. Denmark | 53 | 3 | 18 | 8. China | 68 | 4 | 4 |
| 9. USA | 50 | 3 | -25 | 9. Italy | 47 | 3 | -3 |
| 10. Bulgaria | 45 | 3 | 116 | 10. Czechia | 45 | 2 | -2 |
| 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 | 1,557 | 100 | 4 | 1,804 | 100 | -2 | -247 |
| Agricultural products and food preparations (I–IV) | 209 | 13 | 12 | 227 | 13 | -2 | -18 |
| Mineral products (V) | 166 | 11 | 8 | 261 | 14 | 23 | -95 |
| Raw materials and products of chemical industry (VI) | 78 | 5 | 3 | 156 | 9 | 0 | -78 |
| Articles of plastics and rubber (VII) | 38 | 3 | -14 | 79 | 4 | -8 | -41 |
| Wood and articles of wood (IX) | 179 | 12 | -5 | 62 | 4 | 13 | 117 |
| Paper and articles thereof (X) | 25 | 2 | -13 | 25 | 1 | -11 | -1 |
| Textiles and textile articles (XI) | 35 | 2 | 17 | 56 | 3 | -8 | -21 |
| Base metals and articles of base metal (XV) | 107 | 7 | -8 | 145 | 8 | -4 | -38 |
| Machinery and mechanical appliances (84) | 124 | 8 | 11 | 143 | 8 | -11 | -20 |
| Electrical equipment (85) | 218 | 14 | -4 | 252 | 14 | 3 | -35 |
| Transport equipment (XVII) | 115 | 7 | -9 | 179 | 10 | -30 | -64 |
| Optical, measuring, precision instruments (XVIII) | 49 | 3 | -11 | 38 | 2 | -7 | 11 |
| Miscellaneous manufactured articles (XX) | 99 | 6 | 7 | 41 | 2 | -4 | 58 |
| Other | 117 | 7 | 80 | 138 | 8 | 15 | -22 |
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 12 March 2026 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.
When using Statistics Estonia’s data and graphs, please indicate the source.
For further information:
Susann Kivi
Media Relations Manager
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 5696 6484
press [at] stat.ee (press[at]stat[dot]ee)