Exports and imports of goods down in May
According to Statistics Estonia, in May 2024, Estonia’s exports of goods decreased by 6% and imports by 13% compared with May 2023. Exports of goods amounted to nearly €1.6 billion and imports to almost €1.7 billion at current prices. The trade deficit was €144 million, which is €170 million less than in May last year.
Jane Leppmets, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that, after a rise in April, foreign trade started to fall again in May, as both exports and imports of goods declined. “The biggest contributor was re-exports, which fell by 10% in May compared with 2023,” Leppmets added.
The main commodities exported in May were electrical equipment (14% of Estonia’s total exports), agricultural products and food preparations (11%), and wood and articles of wood (11%). The biggest year-on-year decreases were seen in exports of transport equipment (down by €49 million, or 25%) and mineral products (by €24 million, or 14%). Exports of agricultural products and food preparations increased the most, by €15 million (9%).
Exports of goods of Estonian origin were 3% lower and their share in total exports increased by 2 percentage points year on year, accounting for 66% of total exports in May 2024.
Estonia’s top export partner in May was Finland (15% of total exports), followed by Latvia (13%) and Sweden (10%). The main commodities exported were electrical equipment to Finland and Sweden and mineral products to Latvia. In comparison with May 2023, the biggest decline occurred in exports of goods to Lithuania (down by €17 million, or 12%) and Russia (by €16 million, or 29%). The greatest increase was seen in exports to Norway (up by €16 million, or 27%) and Germany (by €14 million, or 13%).
The main commodities imported in May were agricultural products and food preparations (14% of Estonia's total imports), electrical equipment (12%), and transport equipment (12%). Compared with May last year, the biggest fall occurred in the imports of mechanical appliances (down by €67 million, or 30%), transport equipment (by €56 million, or 22%), and electrical equipment (by €41 million, or 16%). The largest increase was recorded in the imports of agricultural products and food preparations (up by €26 million, or 12%).
The top partner country for Estonia’s imports of goods in May was Finland (15% of total imports), followed by Lithuania, Germany and Latvia (all accounting for 11% of total imports). The main commodities imported were mineral products from Finland and Lithuania, transport equipment from Germany, and agricultural products and food preparations from Latvia. Year on year, imports of goods decreased the most from Finland (down by €60 million, or 19%), Germany (by €55 million, or 23%) and Sweden (by €51 million, or 33%), and increased from Belgium (up by €14 million, or 37%) and Indonesia (by €14 million, or 15 times).
Month | Exports, million euros | Imports, million euros | Balance, million euros | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2024 | Change, % | 2023 | 2024 | Change, % | 2023 | 2024 | |
TOTAL | 8,022 | 7,234 | -10 | 9,123 | 8,451 | -7 | -1,101 | -1,217 |
January | 1,555 | 1,339 | -14 | 1,737 | 1,601 | -8 | -182 | -262 |
February | 1,586 | 1,337 | -16 | 1,721 | 1,592 | -8 | -135 | -254 |
March | 1,740 | 1,466 | -16 | 1,971 | 1,688 | -14 | -230 | -223 |
April | 1,490 | 1,536 | 3 | 1,731 | 1,871 | 8 | -240 | -334 |
May | 1,650 | 1,555 | -6 | 1,964 | 1,699 | -13 | -314 | -144 |
| 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 | 1,555 | 100 | -6 | TOTAL | 1,699 | 100 | -13 |
| EU-27 | 1,139 | 73 | -6 | EU-27 | 1,463 | 86 | -12 |
| Euro area 20 | 862 | 55 | -5 | Euro area 20 | 1,127 | 66 | -9 |
| Non-EU | 416 | 27 | -4 | Non-EU | 237 | 14 | -24 |
| 1. Finland | 234 | 15 | -6 | 1. Finland | 250 | 15 | -19 |
| 2. Latvia | 201 | 13 | -6 | 2. Lithuania | 191 | 11 | 6 |
| 3. Sweden | 149 | 10 | -4 | 3. Germany | 190 | 11 | -23 |
| 4. Lithuania | 121 | 8 | -12 | 4. Latvia | 183 | 11 | 4 |
| 5. Germany | 120 | 8 | 13 | 5. Poland | 150 | 9 | -3 |
| 6. Netherlands | 73 | 5 | 13 | 6. Sweden | 103 | 6 | -33 |
| 7. Norway | 73 | 5 | 27 | 7. Netherlands | 91 | 5 | -8 |
| 8. Poland | 52 | 3 | -13 | 8. Italy | 60 | 4 | 6 |
| 9. USA | 46 | 3 | 25 | 9. China | 60 | 4 | -10 |
| 10. United Kingdom | 41 | 3 | 25 | 10. Belgium | 51 | 3 | 37 |
| Commodity section (chapter) by Combined Nomenclature (CN) | Exports | Imports | Balance | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % | Million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % | Million euros | |
| TOTAL | 1,555 | 100 | -6 | 1,699 | 100 | -13 | -144 |
| Agricultural products and food preparations (I–IV) | 177 | 11 | 9 | 242 | 14 | 12 | -65 |
| Mineral products (V) | 146 | 9 | -14 | 193 | 11 | -11 | -47 |
| Raw materials and products of chemical industry (VI) | 80 | 5 | 3 | 158 | 9 | -1 | -78 |
| Articles of plastics and rubber (VII) | 48 | 3 | -13 | 84 | 5 | -11 | -36 |
| Wood and articles of wood (IX) | 171 | 11 | -1 | 64 | 4 | -11 | 107 |
| Paper and articles thereof (X) | 37 | 2 | 20 | 28 | 2 | -6 | 9 |
| Textiles and textile articles (XI) | 35 | 2 | -9 | 56 | 3 | -12 | -21 |
| Base metals and articles of base metal (XV) | 147 | 10 | 8 | 161 | 10 | -13 | -14 |
| Machinery and mechanical appliances (84) | 145 | 9 | -8 | 155 | 9 | -30 | -10 |
| Electrical equipment (85) | 218 | 14 | -2 | 210 | 12 | -16 | 8 |
| Transport equipment (XVII) | 147 | 10 | -25 | 199 | 12 | -22 | -52 |
| Optical, measuring, precision instruments (XVIII) | 40 | 3 | -22 | 38 | 2 | -28 | 3 |
| Miscellaneous manufactured articles (XX) | 110 | 7 | -5 | 40 | 3 | -10 | 70 |
| Other | 55 | 4 | -12 | 72 | 4 | -30 | -17 |
Since January 2024, the import data estimates have been partially replaced retroactively with detailed data from other countries. The data were first published in the database in the updated form on 10 June 2024. Read more about the changes here (in Estonian).
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. Statistics Estonia’s foreign trade application provides visualised foreign trade data for Estonia.
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.
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Heidi Kukk
Media Relations Manager
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9181
press [at] stat.ee (press[at]stat[dot]ee)