Exports of goods up by 13% and imports by 16% in January
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.
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 |
| 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 |
| 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.
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Kaia-Liisa Tabri
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Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 5196 9617
press [at] stat.ee (press[at]stat[dot]ee)