Positive trends in foreign trade continued in February
According to Statistics Estonia, in February, exports of goods increased by 16% and imports by 10% year on year. The growth in foreign trade was significantly boosted by trade in mineral products and wood and articles of wood.
In February, Estonia’s exports and imports of goods each amounted to 1.3 billion euros at current prices. The trade deficit was 73 million euros, having fallen by 49 million euros compared to February 2020.
Evelin Puura, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that the increase in trade in February was driven by the export of fuels imported for processing, and also by a considerable growth in wood imports. “There was an increase in trade with all of our main export partners. The top destination country of our exports was again Finland, followed by Sweden and Latvia. The main countries of consignment were Finland, Germany and Latvia,” added Puura.
The main commodities exported were mineral products, electrical equipment and wood and articles of wood. Compared to February 2020, the biggest increases occurred in the exports of mineral products (by 117 million euros, meaning a twofold increase) and wood and articles of wood (by 28 million euros). Exports of agricultural products and food preparations decreased the most – by 10 million euros.
The biggest rise was recorded in exports to Saudi Arabia, the USA and India, due to increased exports of processed oils. Exports to Mozambique, Canada and Ukraine fell the most. There were decreased exports of fuels to Mozambique and Canada, and fewer dispatches of excavators to Ukraine.
Goods of Estonian origin accounted for 74% of the total exports of goods. Compared to February 2020, the exports of goods of Estonian origin increased by 24% and their re-exports fell by 3%. The biggest rise occurred in the exports of processed oils, shale oil, wood pellets, wood strips and sawn pine products of Estonian origin, while exports of wheat declined the most.
The main commodities imported to Estonia were mineral products, electrical equipment, transport equipment, and machinery and mechanical appliances. The imports of mineral fuels and wood and articles of wood increased the most, by 66 and 16 million euros, respectively. The imports of raw materials and products of chemical industry decreased the most.
The biggest growth was recorded in imports from Belarus, Germany and Latvia, with oils for processing imported from Belarus and Latvia and motor cars imported from Germany. Imports from the United Kingdom decreased the most, due to a decline in the import of components for the electronics industry.
| Month | Exports, million euros | Imports, million euros | Balance, million euros | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2021 | Change, % | 2020 | 2021 | Change, % | 2020 | 2021 | |
| TOTAL | 2,237 | 2,455 | 10 | 2,376 | 2,649 | 11 | -139 | -194 |
| January | 1,148 | 1,192 | 4 | 1,165 | 1,313 | 13 | -17 | -121 |
| February | 1,090 | 1,263 | 16 | 1,212 | 1,336 | 10 | -122 | -73 |
| 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 | 1,263 | 100 | 16 | TOTAL | 1,336 | 100 | 10 |
| EU-27 | 826 | 65 | 8 | EU-27 | 1,001 | 75 | 7 |
| Euro area 19 | 587 | 46 | 7 | Euro area 19 | 766 | 57 | 8 |
| Non-EU | 436 | 35 | 33 | Non-EU | 335 | 25 | 22 |
| 1. Finland | 180 | 14 | 1 | 1. Finland | 184 | 14 | 6 |
| 2. Sweden | 129 | 10 | 19 | 2. Germany | 148 | 11 | 14 |
| 3. Latvia | 104 | 8 | 8 | 3. Latvia | 137 | 10 | 13 |
| 4. Germany | 88 | 7 | 20 | 4. Russia | 124 | 9 | 9 |
| 5. USA | 83 | 7 | 44 | 5. Lithuania | 113 | 8 | 6 |
| 6. Lithuania | 67 | 5 | 8 | 6. Sweden | 93 | 7 | 1 |
| 7. Netherlands | 63 | 5 | 23 | 7. Poland | 85 | 6 | 5 |
| 8. Russia | 58 | 5 | -2 | 8. Netherlands | 54 | 4 | -4 |
| 9. Norway | 49 | 4 | 24 | 9. Belarus | 48 | 4 | - |
| 10. Poland | 41 | 3 | 13 | 10. China | 45 | 3 | 35 |
| Commodity section (chapter) by Combined Nomenclature (CN) | Balance, million euros | Exports, million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % | Imports, million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | 1,263 | 100 | 16 | 1,336 | 100 | 10 | -73 |
| Agricultural products and food preparations (I–IV) | 94 | 7 | -9 | 126 | 9 | -3 | -32 |
| Mineral products (V) | 233 | 18 | - | 213 | 16 | 44 | 19 |
| Raw materials and products of chemical industry (VI) | 60 | 5 | -7 | 112 | 8 | -14 | -52 |
| Articles of plastics and rubber (VII) | 36 | 3 | 3 | 74 | 6 | 13 | -39 |
| Wood and articles of wood (IX) | 148 | 12 | 23 | 59 | 5 | 38 | 89 |
| Paper and articles thereof (X) | 25 | 2 | -2 | 22 | 2 | 9 | 3 |
| Textiles and textile articles (XI) | 32 | 3 | -1 | 52 | 4 | -4 | -20 |
| Base metals and articles of base metal (XV) | 119 | 9 | 23 | 124 | 9 | 8 | -5 |
| Machinery and mechanical appliances (84) | 100 | 8 | 6 | 132 | 10 | 10 | -33 |
| Electrical equipment (85) | 153 | 12 | 8 | 139 | 10 | 12 | 14 |
| Transport equipment (XVII) | 81 | 6 | 3 | 137 | 10 | 3 | -56 |
| Optical, measuring, precision instruments (XVIII) | 35 | 3 | -10 | 36 | 3 | 19 | -1 |
| Miscellaneous manufactured articles (XX) | 91 | 7 | -4 | 40 | 3 | 7 | 51 |
| Other | 58 | 5 | 19 | 70 | 5 | 12 | -11 |
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