In September, the share of trade with European Union countries increased
According to Statistics Estonia, in September 2022, Estonia’s exports of goods increased by 14% and imports by 19% at current prices compared with September 2021. In the third quarter, exports were up by 16% and imports by 22%. Trade was mainly boosted by the increased exports and imports of mineral products as well as by rising prices in general.
Jane Leppmets, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that, in September, Estonia’s exports of goods amounted to nearly 1.9 billion and imports to 2.1 billion euros at current prices. The trade deficit was 155 million euros, which is 92 million euros more than in September last year. “In the third quarter as a whole, the trade deficit was over two times bigger than in the third quarter of 2021,” added Leppmets.
The main commodities exported in September were mineral products (for 360 million euros), electrical equipment (for 276 million euros) and wood and articles of wood (for 211 million euros). Compared with September 2021, the biggest increase occurred in the exports of mineral products (incl. electricity and fuel oils) and machinery. Goods of Estonian origin accounted for 65% of the total exports of goods, down from 74% in September last year.
In September, the main partner country for Estonia’s exports of goods was Latvia (16% of total exports), followed by Finland (16%) and Sweden (9%). The main commodities exported were electricity and motor cars to Latvia, mineral products (incl. natural gas) and metal structures and their parts to Finland, and prefabricated wooden buildings and wood to Sweden. The biggest increase occurred in exports to Latvia, Finland and Lithuania. The biggest fall was recorded in exports to the USA and Netherlands.
The main commodities imported to Estonia in September were mineral products (for 411 million euros), electrical equipment (for 250 million euros), transport equipment (for 212 million euros), and agricultural products and food preparations (for 205 million euros). The greatest increase occurred in the imports of gas oils, electricity, motor cars, electrical equipment, and vegetable oils.
The top partner countries for Estonia’s imports of goods were Finland (17% of total imports), Latvia (11%) and Germany (11%). Imports from Finland outvalued imports from all non-EU countries combined – this was due to increased imports from Finland and also the dramatic decline in imports from Russia. The main commodities imported were mineral products from both Finland and Latvia, and transport equipment from Germany. In September 2021, EU countries represented 73% of imports to Estonia, while in September 2022 their share in imports was already 83%. The share of EU countries in Estonia’s exports grew by two percentage points year on year.
Compared with September 2021, the biggest rise was recorded in imports from Latvia (up by 81 million euros), followed by imports from Finland (up by 66 million euros) and Lithuania (up by 63 million euros). In September, similarly to August, the biggest decrease year on year occurred in imports from Russia (down by 132 million euros) and Belarus (down by 51 million euros).
| Month | Exports, million euros | Imports, million euros | Balance, million euros | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2022 | Change, % | 2021 | 2022 | Change, % | 2021 | 2022 | |
| TOTAL | 13,162 | 16,002 | 22 | 14,427 | 18,455 | 28 | -1,265 | -2,453 |
| 1st quarter | 3,905 | 5,083 | 30 | 4,284 | 5,708 | 33 | -379 | -625 |
| January | 1,187 | 1,619 | 36 | 1,305 | 1,774 | 36 | -118 | -155 |
| February | 1,254 | 1,487 | 19 | 1,325 | 1,774 | 34 | -71 | -287 |
| March | 1,464 | 1,977 | 35 | 1,654 | 2,160 | 31 | -190 | -183 |
| 2nd quarter | 4,476 | 5,380 | 20 | 5,009 | 6,462 | 29 | -532 | -1,082 |
| April | 1,538 | 1,600 | 4 | 1,639 | 2,120 | 29 | -101 | -520 |
| May | 1,473 | 1,932 | 31 | 1,648 | 2,213 | 34 | -174 | -281 |
| June | 1,465 | 1,847 | 26 | 1,722 | 2,128 | 24 | -257 | -281 |
| 3rd quarter | 4,781 | 5,540 | 16 | 5,135 | 6,285 | 22 | -354 | -745 |
| July | 1,503 | 1,702 | 13 | 1,676 | 2,020 | 21 | -173 | -318 |
| August | 1,572 | 1,890 | 20 | 1,690 | 2,162 | 28 | -118 | -272 |
| September | 1,706 | 1,948 | 14 | 1,769 | 2,103 | 19 | -63 | -155 |
| 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 | 1,948 | 100 | 14 | TOTAL | 2,103 | 100 | 19 |
| EU-27 | 1,345 | 69 | 16 | EU-27 | 1,756 | 83 | 33 |
| Euro area 19 | 1,010 | 52 | 17 | Euro area 19 | 1,338 | 64 | 32 |
| Non-EU | 603 | 31 | 11 | Non-EU | 347 | 17 | -22 |
| 1. Latvia | 308 | 16 | 66 | 1. Finland | 355 | 17 | 23 |
| 2. Finland | 302 | 16 | 24 | 2. Latvia | 232 | 11 | 53 |
| 3. Sweden | 176 | 9 | 2 | 3. Germany | 223 | 11 | 24 |
| 4. USA | 127 | 7 | -39 | 4. Lithuania | 218 | 10 | 41 |
| 5. Lithuania | 119 | 6 | 30 | 5. Poland | 155 | 7 | 40 |
| 6. Germany | 97 | 5 | -10 | 6. Sweden | 152 | 7 | 23 |
| 7. Norway | 77 | 4 | 40 | 7. China | 92 | 4 | 42 |
| 8. Russia | 68 | 3 | 20 | 8. Netherlands | 85 | 4 | 18 |
| 9. United Kingdom | 64 | 3 | 1 | 9. Belgium | 72 | 3 | 114 |
| 10. Poland | 57 | 3 | 14 | 10. Russia | 60 | 3 | -69 |
| Commodity section (chapter) by Combined Nomenclature (CN) | Exports | Imports | Balance, million euros | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % | Million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % | ||
| TOTAL | 1,948 | 100 | 14 | 2,103 | 100 | 19 | -155 |
| Agricultural products and food preparations (I–IV) | 190 | 10 | 31 | 205 | 10 | 38 | -14 |
| Mineral products (V) | 360 | 18 | 24 | 411 | 20 | 32 | -50 |
| Raw materials and products of chemical industry (VI) | 85 | 5 | 7 | 175 | 8 | 18 | -90 |
| Articles of plastics and rubber (VII) | 57 | 3 | 8 | 105 | 5 | 4 | -48 |
| Wood and articles of wood (IX) | 211 | 11 | 4 | 68 | 3 | -32 | 143 |
| Paper and articles thereof (X) | 39 | 2 | 24 | 34 | 2 | 21 | 5 |
| Textiles and textile articles (XI) | 43 | 2 | 14 | 85 | 4 | 18 | -42 |
| Base metals and articles of base metal (XV) | 135 | 7 | -3 | 173 | 8 | 3 | -37 |
| Machinery and mechanical appliances (84) | 162 | 8 | 41 | 199 | 9 | 13 | -36 |
| Electrical equipment (85) | 276 | 14 | -1 | 250 | 12 | 30 | 25 |
| Transport equipment (XVII) | 138 | 7 | 40 | 212 | 10 | 40 | -74 |
| Optical, measuring, precision instruments (XVIII) | 55 | 3 | 33 | 44 | 2 | 24 | 11 |
| Miscellaneous manufactured articles (XX) | 135 | 7 | 1 | 55 | 3 | 11 | 79 |
| Other | 60 | 3 | 5 | 88 | 4 | 4 | -28 |
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. Visualised data of Estonia’s foreign trade can be viewed in Statistics Estonia’s application.
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.
For further information:
Helen Maria Raadik
Media Relations Manager
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9181
press [at] stat.ee