In May, trade increased
According to Statistics Estonia, in May 2022, Estonia’s exports of goods increased by 31% and imports by 33% compared to May 2021. Trade grew with most of our main trading partners.
Estonia’s exports of goods amounted to 1.9 billion euros and imports to nearly 2.2 billion euros at current prices. The trade deficit was 265 million euros – up by 88 million euros compared to May 2021.
Evelin Puura, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, pointed out that trade growth in May was broad-based, with increases in almost all commodity sections and exports falling only in electrical equipment. “Trade with the main partner countries also increased, only trade with Russia and the United States decreased. The decline in trade with Russia is due to the gradual entry into force of sanctions related to the war in Ukraine. Exports of electrical equipment to the US have decreased significantly,” said Puura.
The main commodities exported in May were mineral fuels and electricity, electrical equipment, and wood and articles of wood. Compared to May 2021, the biggest increase occurred in the exports of mineral fuels and electricity, which grew by 197 million euros. The exports of base metals and articles of base metal was up by 59 million euros, and the exports of wood and articles of wood by 55 million euros. The biggest decrease occurred in the exports of electrical equipment –down by 11 million euros.
The main partner country for Estonia’s exports of goods was Finland, followed by Latvia and Sweden. “The main commodities exported were metal structures and other steel products and electrical equipment to Finland, electricity, scrap metal and automobiles to Latvia, and communication equipment and prefabricated wooden buildings to Sweden. The biggest increase occurred in exports to Latvia, Finland, Sweden, and Egypt. More electricity was exported to Latvia, and there were larger dispatches of mineral fuels to Sweden and Egypt,” Puura added.
Re-exports from Estonia increased by 36%, exports of domestic goods by 29%. Goods of Estonian origin accounted for 72% of the total exports of goods. In the case of goods of Estonian origin, the biggest rise occurred in the exports of processed mineral fuels, scrap metal, and wood and articles of wood.
The main commodities imported to Estonia were mineral fuels and electricity, base metals and articles of base metal, electrical equipment, and mechanical appliances. The imports of mineral fuels and electricity increased the most (up by 128 million euros), followed by imports of base metals and articles of base metal (up by 91 million euros), and wood and articles of wood (up by 52 million euros).
The top partner countries for Estonia’s imports of goods were Finland, Lithuania, and Germany. The biggest rise was recorded in imports from Finland and Lithuania. There were greater imports of electricity and scrap metal from Finland, and greater imports of motor fuels from Lithuania.
| Month | Exports, million euros | Imports, million euros | Balance, million euros | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2022 | Change, % | 2021 | 2022 | Change, % | 2021 | 2022 | |
| TOTAL | 6,916 | 8,643 | 25 | 7,570 | 10,061 | 33 | -654 | -1418 |
| January | 1,190 | 1,624 | 36 | 1,306 | 1,778 | 36 | -116 | -154 |
| February | 1,257 | 1,495 | 19 | 1,327 | 1,783 | 34 | -70 | -289 |
| March | 1,465 | 1,998 | 36 | 1,653 | 2,171 | 31 | -188 | -173 |
| April | 1,536 | 1,605 | 5 | 1,639 | 2,144 | 31 | -103 | -538 |
| May | 1,469 | 1,921 | 31 | 1,646 | 2,186 | 33 | -177 | -265 |
| 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 | 1,921 | 100 | 31 | TOTAL | 2,186 | 100 | 33 |
| EU-27 | 1,265 | 66 | 28 | EU-27 | 1,690 | 77 | 42 |
| Euro area 19 | 893 | 46 | 27 | Euro area 19 | 1,294 | 59 | 46 |
| Non-EU | 656 | 34 | 36 | Non-EU | 496 | 23 | 8 |
| 1. Finland | 277 | 14 | 31 | 1. Finland | 310 | 14 | 51 |
| 2. Latvia | 226 | 12 | 75 | 2. Lithuania | 258 | 12 | 72 |
| 3. Sweden | 201 | 10 | 47 | 3. Germany | 225 | 10 | 29 |
| 4. Lithuania | 119 | 6 | 28 | 4. Russia | 189 | 9 | -2 |
| 5. USA | 103 | 5 | -27 | 5. Latvia | 182 | 8 | 39 |
| 6. Germany | 99 | 5 | -3 | 6. Sweden | 153 | 7 | 29 |
| 7. Norway | 66 | 3 | 22 | 7. Poland | 148 | 7 | 33 |
| 8. Egypt | 62 | 3 | - | 8. Netherlands | 94 | 4 | 40 |
| 9. Poland | 51 | 3 | 6 | 9. China | 89 | 4 | 78 |
| 10. Russia | 50 | 3 | -31 | 10. Italy | 58 | 3 | 32 |
| 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 | 1,921 | 100 | 31 | 2,186 | 100 | 33 | -265 |
| Agricultural products and food preparations (I–IV) | 162 | 9 | 41 | 197 | 9 | 32 | -35 |
| Mineral products (V) | 395 | 21 | 99 | 364 | 17 | 54 | 32 |
| Raw materials and products of chemical industry (VI) | 84 | 4 | 7 | 178 | 8 | 18 | -94 |
| Articles of plastics and rubber (VII) | 58 | 3 | 21 | 120 | 6 | 30 | -62 |
| Wood and articles of wood (IX) | 214 | 11 | 35 | 129 | 6 | 67 | 85 |
| Paper and articles thereof (X) | 39 | 2 | 32 | 33 | 2 | 45 | 6 |
| Textiles and textile articles (XI) | 42 | 2 | 21 | 71 | 3 | 25 | -29 |
| Base metals and articles of base metal (XV) | 176 | 9 | 50 | 246 | 11 | 59 | -70 |
| Machinery and mechanical appliances (84) | 135 | 7 | 10 | 224 | 10 | 28 | -89 |
| Electrical equipment (85) | 232 | 12 | -5 | 224 | 10 | 21 | 8 |
| Transport equipment (XVII) | 121 | 6 | 9 | 204 | 9 | 12 | -83 |
| Optical, measuring, precision instruments (XVIII) | 50 | 3 | 51 | 47 | 2 | 37 | 2 |
| Miscellaneous manufactured articles (XX) | 152 | 8 | 23 | 53 | 2 | 24 | 99 |
| Other | 63 | 3 | 10 | 97 | 5 | 14 | -35 |
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 9191