Exports of goods of Estonian origin decreased in June
According to Statistics Estonia, in June, Estonia’s exports of goods amounted to 1.6 billion and imports to 1.9 billion euros. Compared with June 2022, exports of goods decreased by 14% and imports by 13% at current prices. The trade deficit in June was 271 million euros, which is 33 million euros less than in the same month last year.
In the second quarter of 2023, Estonia’s exports of goods declined by 11% and imports by 15% year on year. Exports of goods totalled 4.8 billion and imports 5.6 billion euros in the second quarter this year. The trade deficit was 802 million euros, which is 329 million euros less than in the same quarter last year.
Jane Leppmets, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that, compared with June 2022, the most notable decline occurred in the exports of goods of Estonian origin. “In June 2023, exports of goods of Estonian origin were down 20% year on year. Re-exports remained close to last year’s level (-1%), meaning that the decline in exports resulted primarily from the decreased exports of goods of Estonian origin. The biggest fall was registered in the exports of mineral fuels of Estonian origin,” added Leppmets.
The main commodities exported in June were electrical equipment (15% of Estonia’s total exports), mineral products (11%) and transport equipment (11%). The biggest fall was recorded in the exports of mineral products (down by 220 million euros). The exports of wood and articles of wood decreased by 59 million euros and the exports of miscellaneous manufactured articles by 30 million euros. Compared with June 2022, the biggest increases were recorded in the exports of transport equipment (up by 61 million euros), mechanical appliances (up by 27 million euros), and agricultural products and food preparations (up by 15 million euros).
Estonia’s top export partner in June was Finland (15% of total exports), followed by Latvia (12%), Sweden (9%) and Lithuania (9%). The main commodities exported were electrical equipment (incl. static converters) to Finland, mineral products (incl. electricity) to Latvia, electrical equipment (incl. communication equipment) to Sweden, and transport equipment (incl. motor cars) to Lithuania. The biggest decline was registered in exports to the United States, Latvia and Egypt. Compared with June last year, there were decreased exports of electrical equipment (incl. communication equipment) to the USA, lower exports of mineral products (incl. electricity) to Latvia, and fewer dispatches of mineral products (incl. various mineral oils) to Egypt. The biggest rise occurred in exports to Singapore and Lithuania. There were more exports of mineral products (incl. various mineral oils) to Singapore and greater exports of transport equipment (incl. motor cars) to Lithuania.
The main commodities imported in June were transport equipment (14% of Estonia’s total imports), electrical equipment (12%), mineral products (12%), and agricultural products and food preparations (12%). The biggest fall was recorded in the imports of mineral products (down by 198 million euros). The imports of wood and articles of wood decreased by 64 million euros and the imports of base metals and articles of base metal by 51 million euros. The biggest increases were recorded in the imports of transport equipment (up by 58 million euros) and agricultural products and food preparations (up by 16 million euros).
In June, the top partner countries for Estonia’s imports of goods were Finland (16% of Estonia’s total imports), Germany (11%), Lithuania (10%) and Latvia (10%). The main commodities imported were mineral products (incl. electricity) from Finland, transport equipment (incl. motor cars) from Germany, mineral products (incl. petroleum oils) from Lithuania, and mineral products (incl. natural gas) from Latvia. The biggest fall occurred in imports from Russia, Finland and Sweden due to decreased imports of mineral products. Compared with June 2022, there were fewer imports of various mineral oils from Russia, lower imports of electricity from Finland, and smaller imports of mineral and petroleum oils from Sweden. Imports from Lithuania increased the most, as there were more imports of mineral products (incl. petroleum oils) than last year.
| Month | Exports, million euros | Imports, million euros | Balance, million euros | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2023 | Change, % | 2022 | 2023 | Change, % | 2022 | 2023 | |
| TOTAL | 10 498 | 9 486 | -10 | 12 231 | 10 874 | -11 | -1 733 | -1 389 |
| 1st quarter | 5 130 | 4 731 | -8 | 5 731 | 5 318 | -7 | -600 | -587 |
| January | 1 636 | 1 496 | -9 | 1 781 | 1 770 | -1 | -145 | -274 |
| February | 1 509 | 1 525 | 1 | 1 778 | 1 639 | -8 | -269 | -114 |
| March | 1 986 | 1 710 | -14 | 2 172 | 1 908 | -12 | -186 | -199 |
| 2nd quarter | 5 368 | 4 755 | -11 | 6 501 | 5 557 | -15 | -1 133 | -802 |
| April | 1 599 | 1 525 | -5 | 2 131 | 1 742 | -18 | -532 | -216 |
| May | 1 930 | 1 644 | -15 | 2 226 | 1 959 | -12 | -297 | -315 |
| June | 1 839 | 1 585 | -14 | 2 143 | 1 856 | -13 | -304 | -271 |
| 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 | 1,585 | 100 | -14 | TOTAL | 1,856 | 100 | -13 |
| EU-27 | 1,124 | 71 | -8 | EU-27 | 1,591 | 86 | -5 |
| Euro area 20 | 860 | 54 | -6 | Euro area 20 | 1,173 | 63 | -5 |
| Non-EU | 462 | 29 | -25 | Non-EU | 265 | 14 | -44 |
| 1. Finland | 245 | 15 | -1 | 1. Finland | 290 | 16 | -18 |
| 2. Latvia | 191 | 12 | -24 | 2. Germany | 211 | 11 | 0 |
| 3. Sweden | 138 | 9 | -20 | 3. Lithuania | 188 | 10 | 14 |
| 4. Lithuania | 136 | 9 | 20 | 4. Latvia | 184 | 10 | 4 |
| 5. Germany | 107 | 7 | -6 | 5. Sweden | 160 | 9 | -18 |
| 6. United Kingdom | 63 | 4 | 10 | 6. Poland | 143 | 8 | 1 |
| 7. Russia | 61 | 4 | -14 | 7. Netherlands | 92 | 5 | -27 |
| 8. Norway | 57 | 4 | -36 | 8. China | 60 | 3 | -10 |
| 9. Poland | 55 | 3 | 5 | 9. Italy | 58 | 3 | 1 |
| 10. Netherlands | 54 | 3 | 14 | 10. Denmark | 50 | 3 | 53 |
| 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 | 1,585 | 100 | -14 | 1,856 | 100 | -13 | -271 |
| Agricultural products and food preparations (I–IV) | 166 | 10 | 10 | 215 | 12 | 8 | -50 |
| Mineral products (V) | 171 | 11 | -56 | 220 | 12 | -47 | -49 |
| Raw materials and products of chemical industry (VI) | 72 | 5 | -10 | 149 | 8 | -5 | -77 |
| Articles of plastics and rubber (VII) | 52 | 3 | -2 | 93 | 5 | -11 | -41 |
| Wood and articles of wood (IX) | 154 | 10 | -28 | 60 | 3 | -52 | 94 |
| Paper and articles thereof (X) | 29 | 2 | -28 | 41 | 2 | 31 | -12 |
| Textiles and textile articles (XI) | 40 | 3 | 2 | 61 | 3 | -2 | -20 |
| Base metals and articles of base metal (XV) | 130 | 8 | -8 | 169 | 9 | -23 | -39 |
| Machinery and mechanical appliances (84) | 165 | 10 | 19 | 193 | 11 | -2 | -29 |
| Electrical equipment (85) | 231 | 15 | -4 | 227 | 12 | 2 | 4 |
| Transport equipment (XVII) | 170 | 11 | 57 | 267 | 14 | 27 | -97 |
| Optical, measuring, precision instruments (XVIII) | 48 | 3 | 0 | 45 | 2 | 12 | 3 |
| Miscellaneous manufactured articles (XX) | 103 | 6 | -23 | 46 | 3 | -11 | 57 |
| Other | 55 | 3 | -11 | 70 | 4 | -34 | -15 |
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.
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