In February exports of goods increased

News
Posted on 11 April 2016, 11:00
According to Statistics Estonia, in February 2016, exports of goods increased by 7% and imports by 5% compared to February of the previous year. One-third of the exports growth was due to an increase in the exports of goods of Estonian origin.

In February, exports from Estonia amounted to 0.9 billion euros and imports to Estonia to 1.1 billion euros at current prices. The trade deficit was 140 million euros (in February 2015, it was 151 million euros).

The top destination country of Estonia’s exports in February was Sweden (20% of Estonia’s total exports), followed by Finland (16%) and Latvia (9%). There was an increase in the exports to most of the top destination countries, with the biggest increase having occurred in exports to Sweden, Canada and Finland (up by 23 million, 20 million and 12 million euros, respectively). Exports to the Netherlands decreased the most (16 million euros).

The biggest share in Estonia’s exports in February was held by electrical equipment, followed by wood and products thereof and miscellaneous manufactured articles. In February, there was a rise in exports in almost all commodity sections. The biggest increase occurred in the exports of three commodity sections: 1) miscellaneous manufactured articles (with prefabricated buildings contributing to the growth the most), 2) transport equipment (respectively, motor cars) and electrical equipment (respectively data communication equipment). There was a decrease in the exports of mechanical appliances.

The share of goods of Estonian origin in exports was 70% in February. Exports of goods of Estonian origin increased by 3% compared to February of the previous year. Of the top ten destination countries for exports from Estonia, the share of goods of Estonian origin in exports was the biggest in exports to Denmark (94%) and the United Kingdom (89%), and the smallest in exports to Russia (20%). Goods of Estonian origin are goods produced and processed in Estonia.

The main countries of consignment in February were Finland (13% of Estonia’s total imports), Germany (11%), Latvia (9%) and Sweden (9%). The biggest increase occurred in imports from Germany, Latvia and Sweden (up by 18 million, 14 million and 13 million euros, respectively). At the same time, the greatest decrease occurred in imports from Russia (down by 19 million euros).

In February, the main commodities imported were electrical equipment, mechanical appliances, agricultural products and food preparations, and transport equipment. The biggest rise was recorded in the imports of mechanical appliances and transport equipment. At the same time, the imports of mineral products fell significantly.

In the comparison of January and February 2016, exports of goods grew 11% and imports 8%.

Diagram: Estonia’s foreign trade by month, 2013–2016

Main foreign trade partners of Estonia, February 2016
Country of destination,
group of countries
Exports,
million
euros
Share,
%
Change
compared to
same month
of previous
year, %
Country of consignment,
group of countries
Imports,
million
euros
Share,
%
Change
compared to
same month
of previous
year, %
TOTAL 921.1 100 7 TOTAL 1 060.8 100 5
EU-28 699.9 76 5 EU-28 883.5 83 9
Euro area 19 419.9 46 1 Euro area 19 608.9 57 7
Non-EU 221.2 24 12 Non-EU 177.3 17 -10
1. Sweden 188.4 20 14 1. Finland 135.8 13 -3
2. Finland 143.5 16 9 2. Germany 119.4 11 18
3. Latvia 83.6 9 0 3. Latvia 99.1 9 16
4. Lithuania 55.9 6 23 4. Sweden 95.6 9 16
5. Germany 49.2 5 5 5. Lithuania 88.5 8 10
6. Russia 45.0 5 -12 6. Poland 81.0 8 8
7. Norway 34.3 4 10 7. Netherlands 62.6 6 -4
8. Denmark 32.5 4 14 8. Russia 54.1 5 -26
9. USA 26.0 3 2 9. China 46.0 4 12
10. United Kingdom 24.9 3 13 10. Hungary 33.9 3 42
Exports and imports by commodity section, February 2016
Commodity section (chapter) by Combined Nomenclature (CN) Exports Imports Balance,
million
euros
million
euros
share,
%
change
compared
to same
period of
previous
year. %
million
euros
share,
%
change
compared
to same
period of
previous
year. %
TOTAL 921.1 100 7 1 060.8 100 5 -139.7
Agricultural products and food preparations (I–IV) 87.4 9 1 106.7 10 6 -19.4
Mineral products (V) 79.2 9 5 86.3 8 -23 -7.1
Raw materials and products of chemical industry (VI) 40.9 4 2 96.5 9 11 -55.6
Articles of plastics and rubber (VII) 28.8 3 1 56.0 5 7 -27.3
Wood and products thereof (IX) 103.2 11 8 34.5 3 1 68.8
Paper and articles thereof (X) 26.8 3 9 23.0 2 16 3.7
Textiles and products thereof (XI) 30.0 3 6 53.3 5 12 -23.3
Metals and products thereof (XV) 61.8 7 6 82.3 8 7 -20.5
Mechanical appliances (84) 56.5 6 -4 108.2 10 21 -51.7
Electrical equipment (85) 202.0 22 5 208.4 20 -1 -6.4
Transport equipment (XVII) 54.7 6 19 103.0 10 19 -48.3
Miscellaneous manufactured articles (XX) 87.5 10 20 29.0 3 10 58.4
Other 62.4 7 19 73.5 7 6 -11.4

The statistics are based on the questionnaires “Intrastat” and “Exports (sale of fish and crustaceans in foreign waters and ports)”, the due dates of which were, respectively, 14 and 15 March 2016, and on the customs declaration data of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board, which were sent to Statistics Estonia on 20 March 2016. Statistics Estonia published the monthly summary of foreign trade in 14 working days.

As of January 2016, Statistics Estonia publishes the exports of goods of Estonian origin on a monthly basis. The data are available in the Statistical Database. The time series begin in 2013.