In July, trade decreased
According to Statistics Estonia, in July 2016, the exports of goods decreased by 6% and imports by 4% compared to July of the previous year. The fall in the exports and imports of goods was influenced the most by the trade with European Union countries.
In July, exports from Estonia amounted to 0.9 billion euros and imports to Estonia to 1.1 billion euros at current prices. There was a significant fall in trade with EU Member States: exports dropped by 8% and imports by 7% compared to July 2015. The trade deficit was 165 million euros (in July 2015, it was 156 million euros).
The top destination country of Estonia’s exports in July was Finland (16% of Estonia’s total exports), followed Sweden by (16%) and Latvia (10%). There was a fall in exports to all neighbouring countries, with the biggest fall having occurred in exports to Sweden and Latvia. Compared to July 2015, there were decreased exports of electrical equipment and prefabricated buildings of wood to Sweden, and decreased exports of motor spirits and transport equipment to Latvia. The biggest increase occurred in exports to Nigeria and Mexico.
The biggest share in Estonia’s exports in July was held by electrical equipment, followed by mineral products, wood and articles of wood, agricultural products and food preparations, and mechanical appliances. The drop in exports was greatly influenced by a fall in the exports of mineral products (incl. motor spirits) and raw materials and products of the chemical industry (down by 22 million and 10 million euros, respectively).
The main countries of consignment in July were Finland (13% of Estonia’s total imports), Germany (12%) and Lithuania (10%). The biggest drop occurred in imports from Finland and Latvia. Compared to July 2015, there was a fall in the imports of optical appliances from Finland and of electrical equipment from Latvia. The greatest increase occurred in imports from China.
In July, the main commodities imported were electrical equipment, agricultural products and food preparations, mechanical appliances, transport equipment and mineral products. The fall in imports was influenced the most by decreased imports of mineral products (down by 25 million euros).
In July compared to June, the exports of goods decreased by 10% and imports by 7%.
The share of goods of Estonian origin in total exports was 69% in July, being the lowest level this year. The fall in the exports of goods of Estonian origin compared to June 2016 was influenced the most by a drop in the exports of electrical equipment, furniture, base metals and articles of base metal, and wood and articles of wood. Compared to June, the biggest increase has occurred in the exports of mineral products (inc. light fuel oil and electrical energy). By country, the exports of goods of Estonian origin decreased the most in terms of exports to Sweden, Mexico, Finland, Germany and Belgium.
| Country of destination, group of countries | Exports, million euros | Share, % | Change compared to same month of previous year, % | Country of consignment, group of countries | Imports, million euros | Share, % | Change compared to same month of previous year, % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | 886.7 | 100 | -6 | TOTAL | 1 051.5 | 100 | -4 |
| EU-28 | 632.3 | 71 | -8 | EU-28 | 872.4 | 83 | -7 |
| Euro area 19 | 416.2 | 47 | -7 | Euro area 19 | 633.9 | 60 | -5 |
| Non-EU | 254.4 | 29 | 0 | Non-EU | 179.1 | 17 | 9 |
| 1. Finland | 143.1 | 16 | -6 | 1. Finland | 139.8 | 13 | -12 |
| 2. Sweden | 139.3 | 16 | -15 | 2. Germany | 124.8 | 12 | -2 |
| 3. Latvia | 86.6 | 10 | -22 | 3. Lithuania | 100.9 | 10 | -4 |
| 4. Russia | 65.6 | 7 | -19 | 4. Latvia | 85.8 | 8 | -17 |
| 5. Lithuania | 55.6 | 6 | 2 | 5. Sweden | 85.6 | 8 | -12 |
| 6. Germany | 47.2 | 5 | -11 | 6. Poland | 72.0 | 7 | -12 |
| 7. Norway | 35.6 | 4 | -7 | 7. Netherlands | 66.1 | 6 | 6 |
| 8. Netherlands | 31.7 | 4 | 16 | 8. Russia | 57.4 | 5 | 2 |
| 9. USA | 20.7 | 2 | -22 | 9. China | 48.7 | 5 | 34 |
| 10. United Kingdom | 20.7 | 2 | -35 | 10. Italy | 29.8 | 3 | -9 |
| Commodity section (chapter) by Combined Nomenclature (CN) | Exports | Imports | Balance, million euros | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| million euros | share, % | change compared to same period of previous year. % | million euros | share, % | change compared to same period of previous year. % | ||
| TOTAL | 886.7 | 100 | -6 | 1 051.5 | 100 | -4 | -164.8 |
| Agricultural products and food preparations (I–IV) | 79.8 | 9 | 1 | 113.9 | 11 | -6 | -34.0 |
| Mineral products (V) | 87.3 | 10 | -20 | 105.7 | 10 | -19 | -18.4 |
| Raw materials and products of chemical industry (VI) | 41.1 | 5 | -20 | 88.0 | 8 | -3 | -46.8 |
| Articles of plastics and rubber (VII) | 30.8 | 3 | 1 | 59.2 | 6 | -1 | -28.4 |
| Wood and articles of wood (IX) | 81.0 | 9 | 2 | 33.2 | 3 | 8 | 47.8 |
| Paper and articles thereof (X) | 24.1 | 3 | -2 | 21.6 | 2 | -4 | 2.5 |
| Textiles and textile articles (XI) | 30.5 | 3 | 7 | 48.6 | 5 | 6 | -18.1 |
| Base metals and articles of base metal (XV) | 59.9 | 7 | -11 | 81.2 | 8 | -9 | -21.4 |
| Mechanical appliances (84) | 76.3 | 9 | -7 | 106.4 | 10 | -5 | -30.1 |
| Electrical equipment (85) | 183.3 | 21 | -3 | 188.6 | 18 | 0 | -5.2 |
| Transport equipment (XVII) | 58.5 | 7 | 1 | 105.8 | 10 | 5 | -47.3 |
| Miscellaneous manufactured articles (XX) | 72.2 | 8 | -9 | 29.0 | 3 | 9 | 43.2 |
| Other | 61.8 | 6 | -7 | 70.4 | 6 | -15 | -8.4 |
The statistics are based on the questionnaires “Intrastat” and “Exports (sale of fish and crustaceans in foreign waters and ports)”, the due dates of which were, respectively, 14 and 15 August 2016, and on the customs declaration data of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board, which were sent to Statistics Estonia on 20 August 2016. Statistics Estonia published the monthly summary of foreign trade in 14 working days.
As of January 2016, Statistics Estonia publishes the exports of goods of Estonian origin on a monthly basis. The data are available in the Statistical Database. The time series start from 2013.