The year started with trade growth
According to Statistics Estonia, in January 2021, exports of goods increased by 4% and imports by 13% year on year. The biggest driver of trade growth was exports of mineral products.
In January, Estonia’s exports of goods amounted to 1.2 billion euros and imports to 1.3 billion euros at current prices. The trade deficit was 118 million euros, having increased by 101 million euros compared to January 2020.
Evelin Puura, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that in January the primary contributor to foreign trade was increased trade in oil products and mineral fuels, which was partially caused by higher prices of crude oil on the world market. “The biggest decrease occurred in the exports and imports of agricultural products and food preparations,” added Puura.
The biggest exports from Estonia were electrical equipment, mineral products, and wood and articles of wood. Compared to January 2020, the biggest increases were recorded in the exports of mineral products (by 34 million euros), electrical equipment (by 18 million euros) and mechanical appliances (by 17 million euros). The export of agricultural products and food preparations decreased the most (by 27 million euros).
The top destination country of Estonia’s exports was Finland, followed by Sweden and the Netherlands. Exports increased the most to the Netherlands and the USA. More processed heavy fuel oil was dispatched to the Netherlands and more communication equipment to the USA. The biggest decrease occurred in exports to Turkey and Finland. In exports to Turkey, the export of agricultural products (cereals) dropped, while log houses, furniture and food products were exported less to Finland.
Goods of Estonian origin accounted for 73% of the total exports of goods. The exports of goods of Estonian origin increased by 6% year on year and their re-exports remained at the same level. The biggest increase occurred in the exports of processed oil products and communication equipment and the biggest decrease in the exports of agricultural products and food preparations of Estonian origin.
The main commodities imported to Estonia were mineral products, electrical equipment, transport equipment, raw materials and products of chemical industry, and mechanical appliances. The biggest increase occurred in the imports of motor fuels (by 111 million euros) and mechanical appliances (by 18 million euros).
The main countries of consignment were Finland, Latvia and Lithuania. The main contributor to import growth was fuel imports from Belarus, which nearly tripled, and from Lithuania. The biggest decline was in imports from the United Kingdom, with a drop in almost all chapters.
| Month | Exports, million euros | Imports, million euros | Balance, million euros | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2021 | Change, % | 2020 | 2021 | Change, % | 2020 | 2021 | |
| January | 1,148 | 1,196 | 4 | 1,165 | 1,313 | 13 | -17 | -118 |
|
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 | 1,196 | 100 | 4 | TOTAL | 1,313 | 100 | 13 |
| EU-27 | 826 | 69 | 3 | EU-27 | 962 | 73 | 9 |
| Euro area 19 | 584 | 49 | 1 | Euro area 19 | 731 | 56 | 11 |
| Non-EU | 369 | 31 | 6 | Non-EU | 351 | 27 | 23 |
| 1. Finland | 163 | 14 | -9 | 1. Finland | 161 | 12 | 3 |
| 2. Sweden | 122 | 10 | 10 | 2. Latvia | 140 | 11 | 16 |
| 3. Netherlands | 99 | 8 | 57 | 3. Lithuania | 130 | 10 | 28 |
| 4. USA | 98 | 8 | 46 | 4. Germany | 129 | 10 | 8 |
| 5. Latvia | 96 | 8 | -10 |
5. Russia |
109 | 8 | 20 |
| 6. Germany | 82 | 7 | 6 | 6. Sweden | 97 | 7 | 6 |
| 7. Lithuania | 62 | 5 | -6 | 7. Poland | 80 | 6 | 5 |
| 8. Russia | 54 | 4 | -1 | 8. Belarus | 62 | 5 | - |
| 9. Denmark | 47 | 4 | -7 | 9. Netherlands | 55 | 4 | 6 |
| 10. Poland | 45 | 4 | 35 | 10. China | 53 | 4 | 11 |
| Commodity section (chapter) by Combined Nomenclature (CN) | Exports, million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % | Imports, million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % | Balance, million euros |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | 1196 | 100 | 4 | 1313 | 100 | 13 | -118 |
| Agricultural products and food preparations (I–IV) | 88 | 7 | -24 | 113 | 9 | -11 | -25 |
| Mineral products (V) | 179 | 15 | 23 | 238 | 18 | 88 | -58 |
| Raw materials and products of chemical industry (VI) | 63 | 5 | 5 | 129 | 10 | 11 | -66 |
| Articles of plastics and rubber (VII) | 34 | 3 | -7 | 65 | 5 | 1 | -31 |
| Wood and articles of wood (IX) | 138 | 12 | 5 | 52 | 4 | 29 | 86 |
| Paper and articles thereof (X) | 26 | 2 | -7 | 18 | 1 | -21 | 8 |
| Textiles and textile articles (XI) | 30 | 3 | -7 | 48 | 4 | -8 | -18 |
| Base metals and articles of base metal (XV) | 91 | 8 | -1 | 121 | 9 | 6 | -30 |
| Mechanical appliances (84) | 100 | 8 | 21 | 128 | 10 | 16 | -27 |
| Electrical equipment (85) | 184 | 15 | 11 | 146 | 11 | 3 | 37 |
| Transport equipment (XVII) | 79 | 7 | -1 | 134 | 10 | 9 | -55 |
| Optical, measuring, precision instruments (XVIII) | 34 | 3 | -9 | 26 | 2 | -17 | 9 |
| Miscellaneous manufactured articles (XX) | 97 | 8 | 1 | 34 | 3 | -7 | 62 |
| Other | 53 | 4 | 16 | 62 | 4 | 4 | -8 |
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.
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. Visualised data of Estonia’s foreign trade can be viewed in Statistics Estonia’s application.
For further information:
Kaia-Liisa Tabri
Communications Partner
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 507 0521