In May, trade grew again by a half
According to Statistics Estonia, in May, exports of goods increased by 47% and imports by 50% year on year. Trade growth was influenced in addition to last year’s low reference base by exports and imports of mineral fuels, electrical equipment and transport equipment.
In May, Estonia’s exports of goods amounted to 1.5 billion euros and imports to 1.6 billion euros at current prices. The trade deficit was 175 million euros, having increased by 84 million euros compared to May 2020.
Evelin Puura, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that the growth was mainly driven by trade with non-EU countries: there was a significant boost in imports of mineral fuels from Russia and exports of electrical equipment to the USA. “Export and import prices were also influenced by the continuously rising prices of materials. It should also be noted that the reference base of May 2020 was at the lowest of the year, with exports and imports having decreased by a quarter compared to the year before,” said Puura.
The main commodities exported were electrical equipment, mineral fuels, and wood and articles of wood. Compared to May 2020, the biggest increases occurred in the exports of mineral fuels (up by 120 million euros), electrical equipment (up by 93 million euros) and transport equipment (up by 51 million euros).
The main partner country for Estonia’s exports in goods was Finland, followed by the USA and Sweden. The biggest increase occurred in exports to the USA, with larger dispatches of telecommunication equipment. Exports increased also to the Netherlands and Denmark, where more processed fuel oil was exported.
Re-exports from Estonia increased by 42% and exports of domestic goods by 48%. Goods of Estonian origin accounted for 71% of the total exports of goods. The biggest rise in the exports of goods of Estonian origin occurred for processed fuels, telecommunication equipment, coniferous saw timber and prefabricated wooden buildings.
The main commodities imported to Estonia were mineral fuels, electrical equipment, transport equipment, and machinery and mechanical appliances. The imports of transport equipment increased the most (up by 98 million euros), followed by imports of mineral fuels (up by 78 million euros) and machinery and mechanical appliances (up by 62 million euros).
Goods were imported the most from Finland, Russia and Germany. Imports increased the most from Russia and Lithuania, with more mineral fuels and motor fuels imported. From Germany, imports of passenger cars increased.
| Month | Exports, million euros | Imports, million euros | Balance, million euros | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2021 | Change, % | 2020 | 2021 | Change, % | 2020 | 2021 | |
| TOTAL | 5,491 | 6,953 | 27 | 5,941 | 7,577 | 28 | -450 | -624 |
| January | 1,148 | 1,190 | 4 | 1,165 | 1,305 | 12 | -17 | -115 |
| February | 1,090 | 1,261 | 16 | 1,212 | 1,329 | 10 | -122 | -68 |
| March | 1,235 | 1,471 | 19 | 1,387 | 1,653 | 19 | -152 | -182 |
| April | 1,017 | 1,562 | 54 | 1,085 | 1,647 | 52 | -68 | -84 |
| May | 1,002 | 1,469 | 47 | 1,094 | 1,644 | 50 | -92 | -175 |
| 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 | 1,469 | 100 | 47 | TOTAL | 1,644 | 100 | 50 |
| EU-27 | 983 | 67 | 43 | EU-27 | 1,187 | 72 | 45 |
| Euro area 19 | 699 | 48 | 42 | Euro area 19 | 884 | 54 | 42 |
| Non-EU | 486 | 33 | 56 | Non-EU | 457 | 28 | 67 |
| 1. Finland | 211 | 14 | 19 | 1. Finland | 206 | 13 | 27 |
| 2. USA | 141 | 10 | 150 | 2. Russia | 193 | 12 | 77 |
| 3. Sweden | 137 | 9 | 16 | 3. Germany | 174 | 11 | 66 |
| 4. Latvia | 129 | 9 | 37 | 4. Lithuania | 151 | 9 | 57 |
| 5. Germany | 99 | 7 | 45 | 5. Latvia | 132 | 8 | 28 |
| 6. Lithuania | 94 | 6 | 54 | 6. Sweden | 120 | 7 | 50 |
| 7. Netherlands | 73 | 5 | 140 | 7. Poland | 111 | 7 | 54 |
| 8. Russia | 73 | 5 | 32 | 8. Netherlands | 66 | 4 | 23 |
| 9. Denmark | 67 | 5 | 145 | 9. Belarus | 50 | 3 | 563 |
| 10. Norway | 54 | 4 | 55 | 10. China | 50 | 3 | -9 |
| Commodity section (chapter) by Combined Nomenclature (CN) | Balance, million euros | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exports, million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % | Imports, million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % | ||
| TOTAL | 1,469 | 100 | 47 | 1,644 | 100 | 50 | -175 |
| Agricultural products and food preparations (I–IV) | 116 | 8 | 21 | 148 | 9 | 23 | -33 |
| Mineral products (V) | 198 | 14 | 153 | 234 | 14 | 50 | -36 |
| Raw materials and products of chemical industry (VI) | 72 | 5 | 29 | 153 | 9 | 52 | -81 |
| Articles of plastics and rubber (VII) | 49 | 3 | 52 | 94 | 6 | 46 | -45 |
| Wood and articles of wood (IX) | 161 | 11 | 33 | 78 | 5 | 71 | 83 |
| Paper and articles thereof (X) | 31 | 2 | 34 | 24 | 2 | 22 | 8 |
| Textiles and textile articles (XI) | 34 | 2 | 29 | 56 | 3 | 31 | -22 |
| Base metals and articles of base metal (XV) | 117 | 8 | 35 | 153 | 9 | 55 | -36 |
| Machinery and mechanical appliances (84) | 124 | 8 | 28 | 178 | 11 | 54 | -54 |
| Electrical equipment (85) | 244 | 17 | 61 | 185 | 11 | 40 | 59 |
| Transport equipment (XVII) | 111 | 8 | 85 | 180 | 11 | 119 | -70 |
| Optical, measuring, precision instruments (XVIII) | 33 | 2 | -33 | 34 | 2 | 2 | -2 |
| Miscellaneous manufactured articles (XX) | 123 | 8 | 42 | 43 | 3 | 50 | 80 |
| Other | 58 | 4 | 42 | 84 | 5 | 57 | -26 |
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:
Kadri Kütt
Media Relations Manager
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9181