Imports of goods on the rise again
According to Statistics Estonia, in November 2020, compared to November 2019, the exports of goods increased by 9% and imports by 7%. Trade with non-EU countries increased the most.
In November, Estonia’s exports of goods amounted to 1.3 billion euros and imports to 1.4 billion euros at current prices. The trade deficit was 62 million euros.
Evelin Puura, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that for the third month, exports exceeded those of the same period of the last year, while imports increased for the first time in 2020. “In November, a significant impact on trade growth came from increased exports and imports of electrical equipment and mineral products. There was a considerable increase in exports to the USA,” explained Puura.
The biggest exports from Estonia were electrical equipment, mineral products, wood and articles of wood, and agricultural products and food preparations. Compared to November 2019, the biggest increases occurred in the exports of electrical equipment (by 85 million euros) and mineral products (by 43 million euros). The biggest decrease (by 29 million euros) occurred for exports of base metals and articles of base metal.
The top destination country of Estonia’s exports was Finland, followed by the USA and Sweden. Exports increased the most to the USA, Netherlands and Latvia. Exports to the USA went up 2.8 times, with more communications equipment exported. Processed heavy fuel oil and shale oil were exported to the Netherlands and electricity to Latvia. The biggest decreases occurred in exports to Saudi Arabia and Finland, where less agricultural products and food preparations were exported.
Of the total exports of goods, the goods of Estonian origin accounted for 73%. Both the exports of goods of Estonian origin and their re-exports increased by 9% compared to November 2019. The biggest increases occurred in the exports of communication equipment, processed fuels and shale oil of Estonian origin. The export of flat-rolled products decreased the most.
The main commodities imported to Estonia were electrical equipment, mineral products and transport equipment. The biggest increases occurred in the imports of electrical equipment (by 24 million euros) and motor fuels (by 20 million euros).
The main countries of consignment were Finland, Germany and Latvia. The imports of goods increased the most from Finland on account of motor fuels and from Germany on account of transport equipment. Imports decreased the most from Lithuania, as a result of less motor fuels imported.
| Month | Exports, million euros | Imports, million euros | Balance, million euros | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | Change, % | 2019 | 2020 | Change, % | 2019 | 2020 | |
| TOTAL | 13,313 | 12,956 | -3 | 14,761 | 13,675 | -7 | -1,449 | -719 |
| January | 1,158 | 1,147 | -1 | 1,279 | 1,163 | -9 | -121 | -15 |
| February | 1,163 | 1,089 | -6 | 1,251 | 1,210 | -3 | -88 | -121 |
| March | 1,239 | 1,237 | 0 | 1,406 | 1,385 | -1 | -167 | -149 |
| April | 1,241 | 1,017 | -18 | 1,389 | 1,084 | -22 | -148 | -67 |
| May | 1,335 | 1,002 | -25 | 1,434 | 1,093 | -24 | -100 | -91 |
| June | 1,175 | 1,171 | 0 | 1,283 | 1,180 | -8 | -108 | -9 |
| July | 1,174 | 1,164 | -1 | 1,375 | 1,301 | -5 | -201 | -137 |
| August | 1,148 | 1,083 | -6 | 1,246 | 1,198 | -4 | -98 | -116 |
| September | 1,186 | 1,315 | 11 | 1,355 | 1,294 | -5 | -169 | 21 |
| October | 1,274 | 1,404 | 10 | 1,447 | 1,377 | -5 | -173 | 27 |
| November | 1,220 | 1,328 | 9 | 1,297 | 1,391 | 7 | -78 | -62 |
| 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 | 1,328 | 100 | 9 | TOTAL | 1,391 | 100 | 7 |
| EU-27 | 880 | 66 | 5 | EU-27 | 1,077 | 77 | 4 |
| Euro area 19 | 628 | 47 | 6 | Euro area 19 | 816 | 59 | 5 |
| Non-EU and United Kingdom | 449 | 34 | 17 | Non-EU and United Kingdom | 314 | 23 | 21 |
| 1. Finland | 186 | 14 | -9 | 1. Finland | 199 | 14 | 23 |
| 2. USA | 144 | 11 | - | 2. Germany | 158 | 11 | 23 |
| 3. Sweden | 135 | 10 | 0 | 3. Latvia | 138 | 10 | 2 |
| 4. Latvia | 124 | 9 | 22 | 4. Lithuania | 127 | 9 | -16 |
| 5. Russia | 83 | 6 | 11 | 5. Sweden | 100 | 7 | -8 |
| 6. Lithuania | 77 | 6 | 0 | 6. Poland | 97 | 7 | 9 |
| 7. Germany | 73 | 6 | -1 | 7. Russia | 91 | 7 | 26 |
| 8. Netherlands | 73 | 5 | 56 | 8. Netherlands | 56 | 4 | -1 |
| 9. Poland | 44 | 3 | 31 | 9. China | 55 | 4 | 47 |
| 10. Norway | 42 | 3 | -10 | 10. Italy | 38 | 3 | 2 |
| Commodity section (chapter) by Combined Nomenclature (CN) | Exports, million euros | Share, % | Change on same period of previous year, % | Imports, million euros | Share, % | Change on same period of previous year, % | Balance, million euros |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | 1,328 | 100 | 9 | 1,391 | 100 | 7 | -62 |
| Agricultural products and food preparations (I–IV) | 128 | 10 | -18 | 139 | 10 | -3 | -11 |
| Mineral products (V) | 147 | 11 | 41 | 169 | 12 | 13 | -22 |
| Raw materials and products of chemical industry (VI) | 67 | 5 | 7 | 129 | 9 | 15 | -62 |
| Articles of plastics and rubber (VII) | 41 | 3 | 8 | 76 | 5 | 9 | -35 |
| Wood and articles of wood (IX) | 137 | 10 | 3 | 58 | 4 | 29 | 79 |
| Paper and articles thereof (X) | 27 | 2 | -11 | 25 | 2 | -6 | 2 |
| Textiles and textile articles (XI) | 33 | 2 | -4 | 55 | 4 | -1 | -22 |
| Base metals and articles of base metal (XV) | 88 | 7 | -25 | 115 | 8 | -4 | -27 |
| Mechanical appliances (84) | 117 | 9 | 8 | 141 | 10 | 10 | -25 |
| Electrical equipment (85) | 242 | 18 | 54 | 190 | 14 | 14 | 52 |
| Transport equipment (XVII) | 89 | 7 | 0 | 148 | 11 | -3 | -60 |
| Optical, measuring, precision instruments (XVIII) | 47 | 4 | 9 | 35 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| Miscellaneous manufactured articles (XX) | 108 | 8 | 2 | 41 | 3 | -1 | 67 |
| Other | 60 | 4 | 36 | 70 | 5 | 29 | -10 |
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:
Kadri Kütt
Media Relations Manager
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9181