Exports of goods to Finland decreased the most in January
According to Statistics Estonia, in January 2024, exports of goods decreased by 11% and imports by 13% compared with January 2023. Exports of goods amounted to about 1.4 billion and imports to 1.5 billion euros at current prices. The trade deficit was 122 million euros, which is 60 million euros less than in January last year.
Jane Leppmets, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that, in January this year, the biggest decrease occurred in exports to Finland. “In January, there was a noticeable decline in exports to European Union countries, while trade with non-EU countries had already fallen significantly in the second half of 2022 and in 2023. Changes in foreign trade have been influenced the most by mineral products, including electricity. The prices of electricity were much higher last year, which is the main reason for the decline in trade,” added Leppmets.
The main commodities exported in January 2024 were electrical equipment (14% of Estonia’s total exports), mineral products (12%), agricultural products and food preparations (11%), and wood and articles of wood (11%). Compared with January 2023, the biggest decreases were recorded in the exports of mineral products (down by 38 million euros), base metals and articles of base metals (down by 34 million euros), and wood and articles of wood (down by 31 million euros). The exports of transport equipment increased the most, by 19 million euros.
The share of goods of Estonian origin in total exports remained unchanged from January 2023, standing at 64%. Thus, the exports of goods of Estonian origin decreased by 11%, just like total exports. The fall in exports of goods of Estonian origin was mainly due to the decreased exports of base metals and articles of base metals.
Estonia’s top export partners in January 2024 were Finland (20% of Estonia's total exports), Latvia (11%) and Sweden (9%). The main commodities exported were electricity to Finland and Latvia, and communication equipment to Sweden. Compared with January 2023, the biggest decline occurred in exports of goods to Finland (down by 52 million euros) and to Sweden and the Netherlands (exports to each down by 35 million euros). Year on year, there were fewer exports of mineral products to Finland and the Netherlands, and decreased dispatches of wood and articles of wood to Sweden. Exports to Singapore increased in January, due to greater exports of mineral products.
The main commodities imported in January were electrical equipment (14% of Estonia’s total imports), agricultural products and food preparations (12%) and transport equipment (12%). The biggest fall occurred in the imports of mineral products (down by 134 million euros), electrical equipment (down by 41 million euros) and mechanical appliances (down by 26 million euros).
In January, the top partner countries for Estonia’s imports of goods were Latvia (13% of total imports), Finland (13%) and Germany (12%). The main commodities imported were natural gas from Latvia, electricity from Finland, and motor cars from Germany. Compared with January 2023, the biggest fall occurred in imports of goods from Latvia (down by 78 million euros), Finland (down by 55 million euros), and the Netherlands (down by 23 million euros). There were fewer imports of mineral products from Latvia and Finland, and decreased arrivals of electrical equipment from the Netherlands.
| Month | Exports, million euros | Imports, million euros | Balance, million euros | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 202 4 | Change, % | 2023 | 2024 | Change, % | 2023 | 2024 | |
| January | 1,555 | 1,389 | -11 | 1,737 | 1,511 | -13 | -182 | -122 |
| Country of destination, group of countries | Exports, million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % | Country of consignment, group of countries | Imports, million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | 1,389 | 100 | -11 | TOTAL | 1,511 | 100 | -13 |
| EU-27 | 1,038 | 75 | -14 | EU-27 | 1,293 | 86 | -13 |
| Euro area 20 | 772 | 56 | -15 | Euro area 20 | 967 | 64 | -16 |
| Non-EU | 351 | 25 | -1 | Non-EU | 218 | 14 | -15 |
| 1. Finland | 272 | 20 | -16 | 1. Latvia | 196 | 13 | -29 |
| 2. Latvia | 148 | 11 | -8 | 2. Finland | 190 | 13 | -23 |
| 3. Sweden | 127 | 9 | -22 | 3. Germany | 183 | 12 | -1 |
| 4. Lithuania | 106 | 8 | -1 | 4. Lithuania | 165 | 11 | 0 |
| 5. Germany | 98 | 7 | -2 | 5. Sweden | 127 | 8 | 1 |
| 6. Poland | 51 | 4 | 3 | 6. Poland | 116 | 8 | -13 |
| 7. Norway | 44 | 3 | -9 | 7. Netherlands | 78 | 5 | -23 |
| 8. Denmark | 43 | 3 | -16 | 8. China | 64 | 4 | -5 |
| 9. Netherlands | 39 | 3 | -47 | 9. Italy | 39 | 3 | -9 |
| 10. USA | 36 | 3 | -23 | 10. Czechia | 37 | 2 | 15 |
| Commodity section (chapter) by Combined Nomenclature (CN) | Exports | Imports | Balance | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Million euros |
Share, % |
Change on previous year, % | Million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % | Million euros | |
| TOTAL | 1,389 | 100 | -11 | 1,511 | 100 | -13 | -122 |
| Agricultural products and food preparations (I–IV) | 158 | 11 | -6 | 185 | 12 | 8 | -27 |
| Mineral products (V) | 163 | 12 | -19 | 147 | 10 | -48 | 16 |
| Raw materials and products of chemical industry (VI) | 69 | 5 | -14 | 151 | 10 | 7 | -81 |
| Articles of plastics and rubber (VII) | 42 | 3 | -15 | 71 | 5 | -14 | -29 |
| Wood and articles of wood (IX) | 154 | 11 | -17 | 43 | 3 | -12 | 110 |
| Paper and articles thereof (X) | 28 | 2 | -12 | 25 | 2 | -18 | 3 |
| Textiles and textile articles (XI) | 33 | 2 | -11 | 53 | 3 | -17 | -20 |
| Base metals and articles of base metal (XV) | 104 | 8 | -25 | 136 | 9 | -13 | -32 |
| Machinery and mechanical appliances (84) | 128 | 9 | 1 | 149 | 10 | -15 | -21 |
| Electrical equipment (85) | 198 | 14 | -4 | 206 | 14 | -16 | -8 |
| Transport equipment (XVII) | 138 | 10 | 16 | 181 | 12 | -7 | -43 |
| Optical | 38 | 3 | -17 | 37 | 2 | -10 | 1 |
| Miscellaneous manufactured articles (XX) | 84 | 6 | -24 | 41 | 3 | 1 | 43 |
| Other | 51 | 4 | -11 | 86 | 5 | 34 | -34 |
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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Kai Kaljumäe
Communications Partner
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9184
press [at] stat.ee (press[at]stat[dot]ee)