In May, trade increased
According to Statistics Estonia, in May 2018, the exports of goods increased by 7% and imports by 11% compared to May 2017. The growth in trade in May of this year was broad-based, with increased exports and imports in mineral products.
In May 2018, exports from Estonia amounted to 1.2 billion euros and imports to Estonia to 1.4 billion euros at current prices. The trade deficit was 215 million euros (in May 2017, it was 153 million euros).
In May, the top destination countries of Estonia’s exports were Finland (16% of Estonia’s total exports), Sweden (11%) and Latvia (10%). Electrical equipment and base metals and articles of base metal were the main commodities exported to Finland; electrical equipment and wood and articles of wood were the main commodities exported to Sweden; mineral products (fuel additives, electricity) and transport equipment (motor cars) were the main commodities exported to Latvia. The biggest increase occurred in exports to the USA (up by 38 million euros), Latvia (up by 26 million euros) and Finland (up by 18 million euros). In exports to the USA, the exports of electrical equipment increased. There was also an increase in the exports of mineral products and transport equipment to Latvia and electrical equipment and wood and articles of wood to Finland. The biggest decrease occurred in exports to Sweden (down by 19 million euros).
In May, the biggest share in the exports of goods was held by electrical equipment (16% of the total exports of goods), followed by mineral products (14%) and wood and articles of wood (12%). The greatest increase was in the exports of mineral products (up by 49 million euros) and wood and articles of wood (up by 14 million euros).
The share of goods of Estonian origin in total exports was 71% in May 2018. The exports of goods of Estonian origin increased by 7% and re-exports by 9%. Increased exports in the commodity sections of mineral products (shale oil, fuel additives) and wood and articles of wood (sawn timber, wooden doors, glue-laminated boards) contributed to the increase in the exports of goods of Estonian origin.
The main countries of consignment in May were Finland (13% share of Estonia’s total imports), Sweden (12%) and Germany (10%). The main commodities imported were: mineral products and electrical equipment from Finland, transport equipment and mechanical appliances from Germany, and electrical equipment and transport equipment from Sweden. The biggest increase occurred in imports from Sweden (up by 70 million euros), Belarus (up by 46 million euros, i.e. approximately 11 times) and Russia (up by 24 million euros). Electrical equipment and transport equipment were imported more from Sweden, mineral products (motor spirit, fuel additives) from Belarus and Russia. Imports decreased the most from China and Spain (both down by 13 million euros). Less electrical equipment and mechanical appliances were imported from China and less mineral products from Spain.
The main commodities imported to Estonia were mineral products and electrical equipment (both account for 15% of Estonia’s total imports of goods), transport equipment (12%) and mechanical appliances (10%). The greatest increase was in the imports of mineral products (up by 77 million euros), transport equipment (up by 26 million euros) and electrical equipment (up by 23 million euros).
| Month | Exports, million euros | Imports, million euros | Balance, million euros | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2018 | change, % | 2017 | 2018 | change, % | 2017 | 2018 | |
| I quarter | 5 265 | 5 717 | 9 | 6 254 | 6 644 | 6 | -990 | -928 |
| January | 940 | 1 028 | 9 | 1 350 | 1 252 | -7 | -410 | -223 |
| February | 972 | 1 119 | 15 | 1 072 | 1 205 | 12 | -100 | -86 |
| March | 1 179 | 1 142 | -3 | 1 321 | 1 370 | 4 | -142 | -228 |
| April | 1 027 | 1 193 | 16 | 1 212 | 1 370 | 13 | -185 | -176 |
| May | 1 148 | 1 234 | 7 | 1 300 | 1 449 | 11 | -153 | -215 |
| 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 | 1 234 | 100 | 7 | TOTAL | 1 449 | 100 | 11 |
| EU-28 | 861 | 70 | 6 | EU-28 | 1 152 | 80 | 10 |
| Euro area 19 | 613 | 50 | 14 | Euro area 19 | 795 | 55 | 6 |
| Non-EU | 373 | 30 | 10 | Non-EU | 297 | 20 | 17 |
| 1. Finland | 201 | 16 | 10 | 1. Finland | 187 | 13 | 14 |
| 2. Sweden | 142 | 11 | -12 | 2. Sweden | 179 | 12 | 64 |
| 3. Latvia | 128 | 10 | 26 | 3. Germany | 148 | 10 | 6 |
| 4. Russia | 90 | 7 | 13 | 4. Lithuania | 138 | 10 | 15 |
| 5. Lithuania | 73 | 6 | 9 | 5. Latvia | 116 | 8 | 11 |
| 6. USA | 71 | 6 | 113 | 6. Russia | 113 | 8 | 26 |
| 7. Germany | 71 | 6 | -2 | 7. Poland | 86 | 6 | 1 |
| 8. Norway | 40 | 3 | -6 | 8. Netherlands | 76 | 5 | 2 |
| 9. Belgium | 36 | 3 | 81 | 9. Belarus | 50 | 3 | - |
| 10. Netherlands | 36 | 3 | 21 | 10. China | 46 | 3 | -22 |
| Commodity section (chapter) by Combined Nomenclature (CN) | Exports | Imports | Balance, million euros | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| million euros | share, % | change on same period of previous year, % | million euros | share, % | change on same period of previous year, % | ||
| TOTAL | 1 234 | 100 | 7 | 1 449 | 100 | 11 | -215 |
| Agricultural products and food preparations (I–IV) | 99 | 8 | -4 | 137 | 9 | -2 | -37 |
| Mineral products (V) | 172 | 14 | 40 | 222 | 15 | 53 | -50 |
| Raw materials and products of chemical industry (VI) | 64 | 5 | 14 | 111 | 8 | 5 | -47 |
| Articles of plastics and rubber (VII) | 37 | 3 | 2 | 78 | 5 | 5 | -41 |
| Wood and articles of wood (IX) | 143 | 12 | 11 | 54 | 4 | 19 | 89 |
| Paper and articles thereof (X) | 31 | 3 | -1 | 24 | 2 | -2 | 7 |
| Textiles and textile articles (XI) | 33 | 3 | -1 | 55 | 4 | -1 | -22 |
| Base metals and articles of base metal (XV) | 90 | 7 | 5 | 124 | 9 | 5 | -34 |
| Mechanical appliances (84) | 103 | 8 | 6 | 142 | 10 | 5 | -39 |
| Electrical equipment (85) | 195 | 16 | -2 | 220 | 15 | 12 | -25 |
| Transport equipment (XVII) | 91 | 7 | 12 | 168 | 12 | 18 | -77 |
| Optical, measuring, precision instruments (XVIII) | 35 | 3 | -6 | 34 | 2 | 16 | 1 |
| Miscellaneous manufactured articles (XX) | 103 | 8 | 7 | 33 | 2 | -2 | 70 |
| Other | 36 | 3 | -2 | 48 | 3 | -13 | -11 |
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 June 2018, and on the customs declaration data of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board, which were sent to Statistics Estonia on 20 June 2018. Statistics Estonia published the monthly summary of foreign trade in 14 working days. In the case of the statistical activity “Foreign trade”, the main representative of public interest is the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, commissioned by whom Statistics Estonia collects and analyses the data necessary for conducting the statistical activity.