Exports and imports of services were at the same level in the first quarter
According to Statistics Estonia and Eesti Pank, in the first quarter of 2021, the exports of services grew by 2% and imports of services by 51% year on year. Estonian economic entities exported and imported services for 1.6 billion euros. The imports of services increased mainly on account of growth in telecommunications, computer and information services.
The trade deficit in foreign trade in services was 52 million euros, having increased by 515 million euros compared to the first quarter of 2020.
Rita Medźyte, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that as of this year Statistics Estonia collects the data of foreign trade in services with the aim of getting a more precise overview of exports and imports. “Statistics on foreign trade in services allow Estonian enterprises to position themselves more accurately in new or existing markets, assess the market share of their service in different countries and find new potential destination countries for their services,” added Medźyte.
The most exported services were transport services, followed by other business services and telecommunications, computer and information services. Compared to the first quarter of 2020, the biggest increase, of 142 million euros, occurred in the exports of telecommunications, computer and information services, followed by the exports of transport services, which grew by 37 million euros. The exports of transport services increased overall; however, the exports of passenger transport services decreased. The biggest decline was in the exports of travel services (down by 135 million euros) and maintenance and repair services (down by 52 million euros).
Estonia’s biggest services export partner was Finland, with business, transport and construction services supplied the most. Services exports to Finland also decreased the most: this was due to a smaller volume of travel services. The following biggest export partners were Sweden and the USA. Exports to Malta increased the most: primarily due to growth in the volume of exports of transport services and telecommunications, computer and information services.
The most imported services were telecommunications, computer and information services and transport services. The biggest year-on-year growth was recorded for telecommunications, computer and information services (up by 632 euros) and other business services (up by 43 million euros). Imports of travel services decreased the most: by 155 million euros.
Services were imported the most from Germany, led by telecommunications, computer and information services, transport services and business services. The next in ranking were Finland and Lithuania. The imports of services declined the most from Finland, and this was also due to a smaller volume of imported travel services. Imports grew the most from Germany on account of purchasing more telecommunications, computer and information services.
| Country of destination, group of countries | Exports, million euros | Share, % | Change on same quarter of previous year, % | Country ranking in 2020 | Country of destination, group of countries | Imports, million euros | Share, % | Change on same quarter of previous year, % | Country ranking in 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOKKU | 1568 | 100 | 2 | KOKKU | 1620 | 100 | 51 | ||
| TOTAL | 1,568 | 100 | 2 | TOTAL | 1,620 | 100 | 51 | ||
| EU-27 | 1,026 | 65 | 4 | EU-27 | 1,321 | 82 | 79 | ||
| Euro area 19 | 771 | 49 | 0 | Euro area 19 | 1,163 | 72 | 105 | ||
| Non-EU | 542 | 35 | -2 | Non-EU | 299 | 18 | -10 | ||
| 1. Finland | 277 | 18 | -19 | 1 | 1. Germany | 717 | 44 | 836 | 4 |
| 2. Sweden | 146 | 9 | 20 | 2 | 2. Finland | 102 | 6 | -28 | 1 |
| 3. USA | 100 | 6 | 39 | 7 | 3. Lithuania | 79 | 5 | 32 | 6 |
| 4. Germany | 90 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4. Latvia | 72 | 4 | -9 | 3 |
| 5. United Kingdom | 85 | 5 | -10 | 3 | 5. Sweden | 72 | 4 | -15 | 2 |
| 6. Latvia | 83 | 5 | 11 | 5 | 6. United Kingdom | 60 | 4 | -12 | 5 |
| 7. Lithuania | 81 | 5 | 54 | 8 | 7. Russia | 45 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| 8. Russia | 61 | 4 | -15 | 6 | 8. Poland | 44 | 3 | 14 | 9 |
| 9. Switzerland | 49 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 9. Ireland | 39 | 2 | 18 | 11 |
| 10. Malta | 45 | 3 | 217 | 20 | 10. Ukraine | 35 | 2 | 64 | 16 |
| Type of service (according to EBOPS2010) | Exports of services | Imports of services | Balance, million euros | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % | Million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % | ||
| TOTAL | 1,568 | 100 | 2 | 1,620 | 100 | 51 | -52 |
| Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others (SA) | 72 | 5 | 73 | 23 | 1 | 104 | 49 |
| Maintenance and repair services n.i.e. (SB) | 46 | 3 | -53 | 25 | 2 | -12 | 20 |
| Transport (SC) | 468 | 30 | 8 | 370 | 23 | 5 | 98 |
| Travel (SD) | 78 | 5 | -63 | 80 | 5 | -66 | -2 |
| Construction (SE) | 80 | 5 | -14 | 19 | 1 | -39 | 61 |
| Insurance and pension services (SF) | 3 | 0 | 171 | 10 | 1 | 34 | -7 |
| Financial services (excl. insurance and pension services) (SG) | 18 | 1 | -27 | 31 | 2 | 62 | -14 |
| Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e. (SH) | 7 | 0 | -4 | 11 | 1 | -5 | -4 |
| Telecommunications, computer and information services (SI) | 374 | 24 | 61 | 789 | 49 | 406 | -415 |
| Other business services (SJ) | 395 | 25 | 9 | 243 | 15 | 22 | 151 |
| Personal, cultural and recreational services (SK) | 18 | 1 | -19 | 10 | 1 | -10 | 8 |
| Government goods and services n.i.e. (SL) | 9 | 1 | -12 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Statistics Estonia collects and analyses the data of foreign trade in services in cooperation with Eesti Pank, as commissioned by 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.
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.