Exports of goods up by 13% and imports by 16% in January

News
Posted on 12 March 2025, 8:00

According to Statistics Estonia, in January 2025, Estonia’s exports of goods increased by 13% and imports by 16% compared with January 2024. Exports of goods amounted to over 1.5 billion and imports to 1.8 billion euros at current prices. The trade deficit was 331 million euros, which is 85 million more than in January last year.

Jane Leppmets, foreign trade analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that the upward trend in foreign trade, which started in the second half of 2024, continued in January this year. “In intra-EU trade, exports were up by 11% and imports by 9%. In extra-EU trade, the rise was 19% in exports and as much as 57% in imports. Exports to non-EU countries were mainly influenced by greater exports of goods to the United States, and imports from these countries were boosted by increased imports from Turkey,” added Leppmets.

In January, the biggest increase occurred in exports of mineral products

The main commodities exported in January were electrical equipment (15% of Estonia’s total exports), wood and articles of wood (12%), and agricultural products and food preparations (12%). Compared with January 2024, the biggest increase occurred in the exports of mineral products (up by 42 million euros, or 37%), wood and articles of wood (up by 35 million euros, or 23%), and electrical equipment (up by 30 million euros, or 15%). The biggest fall was seen in the exports of mechanical appliances – down by 17 million euros (13%).

In January, exports of goods of Estonian origin were up by 13% year on year, similarly to re-exports. The share of goods of Estonian origin in total exports remained the same and was 65% in January 2025.

Estonia’s top export partners in January were Finland (17% of Estonia’s total exports), Sweden (9%), Latvia (8%) and Lithuania (8%). The main commodities exported were mineral products to Finland, electrical equipment to Sweden, and transport equipment to Latvia and Lithuania. . The biggest increase occurred in exports of goods to the Netherlands (up by 37 million euros, or 97%), where Estonia exported more wood and articles of wood than last year. Exports to Latvia and Russia decreased the most – by 10 million euros. There were fewer dispatches of mineral products to Latvia and decreased exports of mechanical appliances to Russia.

Transport equipment was the most imported commodity in January

The main commodities imported in January were transport equipment (14% of Estonia’s total imports), electrical equipment (13%), and agricultural products and food preparations (13%). Year on year, the biggest rise was registered in the imports of transport equipment (up by 57 million euros, or 30%), agricultural products and food preparations (up by 42 million euros, or 22%), and mechanical appliances (up by 33 million euros, or 26%). The imports of mineral products decreased the most, falling by 8 million euros (4%).

Estonia’s top import partners in January were Latvia (14% of total imports), followed by Germany (12%), Lithuania (10%) and Finland (10%). The main commodities imported were mineral products from Latvia, Lithuania and Finland, and mechanical appliances from Germany. Year on year, the biggest increase occurred in imports of goods from Turkey (up by 54 million euros, or nearly 5 times), with more transport equipment imported. Compared with January 2024, imports of goods from Finland decreased the most, by 42 million euros (19%), as there were fewer arrivals of mineral products.

Estonia's foreign trade by month, 2023–2025
Estonia’s foreign trade by month, 2024–2025

Month

Exports, million euros

Imports, million euros

Balance, million euros

2024

2025

Change, %

2024

2025

Change, %

2024

2025

January

1,338

1,507

13

1,583

1,839

16

-246

-331

Main foreign trade partners of Estonia, January 2025
Country of destination, group of countries

Exports, million euros

Share, %

Change on same month of previous year, %

Country of consignment, group of countries

Imports, million euros

Share, %

Change on same month of previous year, %

TOTAL

1,507

100

13

TOTAL

1,839

100

16

EU-27

1,090

72

11

EU-27

1,489

81

9

Euro area 20

808

54

12

Euro area 20

1,149

62

11

Non-EU

418

28

19

Non-EU

349

19

57

1. Finland

263

17

11

1. Latvia

252

14

19

2. Sweden

130

9

2

2. Germany

216

12

21

3. Latvia

127

8

-7

3. Lithuania

182

10

-3

4. Lithuania

117

8

14

4. Finland

179

10

-19

5. Germany

106

7

10

5. Poland

125

7

9

6. Netherlands

76

5

97

6. Sweden

123

7

-3

7. USA

68

5

88

7. Netherlands

119

6

38

8. Poland

61

4

18

8. Turkey

69

4

355

9. Norway

53

4

21

9. China

65

4

1

10. Denmark

45

3

6

10. Czechia

49

3

51

Exports and imports by commodity section, January 2025
Commodity section (chapter) by Combined Nomenclature (CN)

Exports

Imports

Balance

Million euros

Share, %

Change on same month of previous year, %

Million euros

Share, %

Change on same month of previous year, %

Million euros

 

TOTAL

1,507

100

13

1,839

100

16

-331

Agricultural products and food preparations (I–IV)

180

12

15

231

13

22

-50

Mineral products (V)

153

10

37

206

11

-4

-53

Raw materials and products of chemical industry (VI)

77

5

13

167

9

12

-91

Articles of plastics and rubber (VII)

47

3

13

87

5

27

-40

Wood and articles of wood (IX)

187

12

23

55

3

27

132

Paper and articles thereof (X)

29

2

6

30

2

8

-1

Textiles and textile articles (XI)

31

2

-6

61

3

16

-30

Base metals and articles of base metal (XV)

119

8

18

149

8

18

-31

Machinery and mechanical appliances (84)

112

8

-13

163

9

26

-51

Electrical equipment (85)

230

15

15

240

13

9

-10

Transport equipment (XVII)

128

9

-6

250

14

30

-122

Optical, measuring, precision instruments (XVIII)

55

4

45

41

2

11

14

Miscellaneous manufactured articles (XX)

95

6

16

42

2

11

52

Other

65

4

5

118

6

24

-52

Starting from 2025, Statistics Estonia prepares EU imports statistics using detailed data from other Member States and estimates of their exports to Estonia. The data are validated by Statistics Estonia and combined with administrative data. 2025 data based on the new methodology were first published on 12 March 2025. Read more about the changes here (in Estonian).

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. Statistics Estonia’s foreign trade application provides visualised foreign trade data for Estonia.

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.

When using Statistics Estonia’s data and graphs, please indicate the source.
 

For further information:

Kaia-Liisa Tabri
Communications Partner
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 5196 9617
press [at] stat.ee (press[at]stat[dot]ee)

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