In September, exports grew faster than imports
According to Statistics Estonia, in September 2016, the exports of goods increased by 13% and imports by 2% compared to September of the previous year. In the third quarter as a whole exports grew 7%.
In September, exports from Estonia amounted to 1.1 billion euros and imports to Estonia to 1.2 billion euros at current prices. The trade deficit was 62 million euros (in September 2015, it was 161 million euros).
The top destination country of Estonia’s exports in September was Sweden (15% of Estonia’s total exports), followed by Finland (15%) and Latvia (10%). The biggest increase occurred in exports to the Netherlands, Mexico and Germany (up by 33 million, 26 million and 16 million euros, respectively). Compared to September 2015, more mineral products were exported to the Netherlands and more electrical equipment to Mexico and Germany. Exports to the main destination country Sweden decreased by 13 million euros.
The biggest share in Estonia’s exports in September was held by electrical equipment, followed by mineral products, agricultural products and food preparations and miscellaneous manufactured articles. The increase in exports was greatly influenced by the exports of mineral products (incl. motor spirits, shale oil), electrical equipment (incl. communication equipment) and mechanical appliances (incl. industrial equipment). There was a decrease in the exports of agricultural products and food preparations.
The share of goods of Estonian origin in total exports was 71% in September. Compared to September 2015, the exports of goods of Estonian origin increased by a tenth and re-exports, i.e. the exportation of goods imported from a foreign country, by a fifth. The exports of goods of Estonian origin were influenced the most by a rise in the exports of mineral products, electrical equipment and mechanical appliances. Among goods of Estonian origin, the biggest decrease occurred in the exports of agricultural products and food preparations.
The main countries of consignment in September were Finland (13% of Estonia’s total imports), Germany (12%), Lithuania (10%) and Latvia (10%). The biggest rise occurred in imports from the Netherlands, Russia and the Czech Republic. Compared to September 2015, there was a growth in the imports of electrical equipment from the Netherlands, of mineral products from Russia and of electrical equipment from the Czech Republic. The greatest decrease occurred in imports from Finland.
In September, the main commodities imported to Estonia were electrical equipment, agricultural products and food preparations, and transport equipment. The growth in imports was influenced the most by the imports of transport equipment and raw materials and products of the chemical industry. The biggest fall occurred in the imports of mechanical appliances.
In the 3rd quarter of 2016, exports increased 7% and imports 1%, the previous time that exports grew this much quarter-over-quarter was in the 3rd quarter of 2012. Export growth compared to the same period of 2015 was influenced the most by the increased exports of electrical equipment and mineral products. In the 3rd quarter, among destination countries, the biggest increase occurred in exports to Mexico, Romania and the Netherlands.| Month | Exports, million euros | Imports, million euros | Balance, million euros | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2016 | change, % | 2015 | 2016 | change, % | 2015 | 2016 | |
| 9 months, total | 8 646.6 | 8 817.4 | 2 | 9 800.1 | 10 012.3 | 2 | -1 153.4 | -1 194.9 |
| 1st quarter | 2 829.3 | 2 775.3 | -2 | 3 188.5 | 3 218.7 | 1 | -359.2 | -443.3 |
| January | 917.7 | 823.8 | -10 | 966.6 | 977.2 | 1 | -48.9 | -153.4 |
| February | 863.1 | 918.8 | 6 | 1 014.3 | 1 056.8 | 4 | -151.2 | -137.9 |
| March | 1 048.5 | 1 032.7 | -2 | 1 207.6 | 1 184.7 | -2 | -159.1 | -152.0 |
| 2nd quarter | 2 987.4 | 3 025.7 | 1 | 3 342.0 | 3 483.3 | 4 | -354.6 | -457.6 |
| April | 1 031.1 | 1 048.3 | 2 | 1 129.3 | 1 205.6 | 7 | -98.3 | -157.3 |
| May | 955.9 | 998.3 | 4 | 1 044.7 | 1 147.5 | 10 | -88.8 | -149.2 |
| June | 1 000.4 | 979.1 | -2 | 1 168.0 | 1 130.2 | -3 | -167.5 | -151.1 |
| 3rd quarter | 2 829.9 | 3 016.3 | 7 | 3 269.5 | 3 310.3 | 1 | -439.7 | -294.1 |
| July | 935.5 | 891.1 | -5 | 1 106.6 | 1 047.6 | -5 | -171.1 | -156.5 |
| August | 913.9 | 1 021.3 | 12 | 1 021.6 | 1 096.6 | 7 | -107.8 | -75.3 |
| September | 980.5 | 1 103.9 | 13 | 1 141.3 | 1 166.1 | 2 | -160.8 | -62.3 |
| 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 | 1 103.9 | 100 | 13 | TOTAL | 1 166.1 | 100 | 2 |
| EU-28 | 798.6 | 72 | 7 | EU-28 | 988.6 | 85 | 2 |
| Euro area 19 | 526.9 | 48 | 14 | Euro area 19 | 692.5 | 59 | 2 |
| Non-EU | 305.3 | 28 | 30 | Non-EU | 177.5 | 15 | 4 |
| 1. Sweden | 169.7 | 15 | -7 | 1. Finland | 154.2 | 13 | -5 |
| 2. Finland | 167.1 | 15 | 1 | 2. Germany | 135.4 | 12 | 1 |
| 3. Latvia | 108.3 | 10 | 4 | 3. Lithuania | 117.3 | 10 | 1 |
| 4. Russia | 73.9 | 7 | 15 | 4. Sweden | 111.2 | 10 | 3 |
| 5. Germany | 66.5 | 6 | 32 | 5. Latvia | 98.2 | 8 | 5 |
| 6. Lithuania | 63.7 | 6 | 5 | 6. Poland | 82.1 | 7 | -4 |
| 7. Netherlands | 57.6 | 5 | - | 7. Netherlands | 70.7 | 6 | 17 |
| 8. Norway | 47.8 | 4 | 8 | 8. Russia | 51.6 | 4 | 18 |
| 9. USA | 29.7 | 3 | 16 | 9. China | 44.2 | 4 | -9 |
| 10. Mexico | 28.8 | 3 | - | 10. United Kingdom | 29.9 | 3 | -7 |
| 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 | 1 103.9 | 100 | 13 | 1 166.1 | 100 | 2 | -160.8 |
| Agricultural products and food preparations (I–IV) | 100.9 | 9 | -14 | 127.4 | 11 | 2 | -6.6 |
| Mineral products (V) | 108.9 | 10 | 82 | 93.1 | 8 | 0 | -33.1 |
| Raw materials and products of chemical industry (VI) | 53.3 | 5 | 19 | 98.2 | 8 | 7 | -46.9 |
| Articles of plastics and rubber (VII) | 36.6 | 3 | 10 | 67.4 | 6 | 5 | -30.9 |
| Wood and articles of wood (IX) | 104.1 | 9 | 7 | 37.4 | 3 | 8 | 63.2 |
| Paper and articles thereof (X) | 28.6 | 3 | 12 | 26.1 | 2 | 8 | 1.3 |
| Textiles and textile articles (XI) | 37.5 | 4 | 21 | 60.3 | 5 | 4 | -27.1 |
| Base metals and articles of base metal (XV) | 73.4 | 7 | 7 | 98.9 | 9 | 5 | -25.0 |
| Mechanical appliances (84) | 92.2 | 8 | 16 | 103.5 | 9 | -13 | -39.9 |
| Electrical equipment (85) | 226.2 | 20 | 18 | 206.8 | 18 | -1 | -16.1 |
| Transport equipment (XVII) | 69.5 | 6 | 16 | 126.1 | 11 | 16 | -48.6 |
| Miscellaneous manufactured articles (XX) | 98.4 | 9 | -4 | 34.5 | 3 | 1 | 68.8 |
| Other | 74.6 | 7 | 11 | 86.4 | 7 | -1 | -19.8 |
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 October 2016, and on the customs declaration data of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board, which were sent to Statistics Estonia on 20 October 2016. Statistics Estonia published the monthly summary of foreign trade in 13 working days. In the case of the statistical activity “Foreign trade”, the main representative of public interest is the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, commissioned by whom Statistics Estonia collects and analyses the data necessary for conducting the statistical activity.
As of January 2016, Statistics Estonia publishes data on the exports of goods of Estonian origin on a monthly basis. The data are available in the Statistical Database. The time series starts from 2013.