Foreign trade declined by a fifth in August
According to Statistics Estonia, in August, Estonia’s exports of goods amounted to 1.5 billion and imports to 1.8 billion euros. Compared with the same month in 2022, exports of goods decreased by 22% and imports by 19% at current prices. The trade deficit in in August was 293 million euros, which is 7 million euros less than a year earlier.
Jane Leppmets, analyst at Statistics Estonia, noted that, as in July, a significant factor behind the decline in both exports and imports of goods this August was the higher reference base of 2022. “Compared with last year, trade in goods with EU member states as well as non-EU countries fell. The biggest change in August was seen in exports and imports of mineral products, especially electricity. The drop in the prices of mineral products also played a major role in this,” Leppmets added.
The main commodities exported in August were electrical equipment (14% of Estonia’s total exports) and mineral products (12%). The biggest fall was recorded in the exports of mineral products – down by 238 million euros. The exports of agricultural products and food preparations and wood and articles of wood decreased by 42 million and 39 million euros, respectively. An increase was seen only in the exports of transport equipment, which rose by 17 million euros.
Exports of goods of Estonian origin fell by 21% in August compared with last year, but its share increased by one percentage point year on year, accounting for 64% of Estonia's total exports in August this year.
Estonia’s top export partner in August was Finland (18% of Estonia’s total exports), followed by Latvia (13%) and Sweden (10%). The main commodities exported were electrical equipment (incl. static converters) to Finland, mineral products (incl. electricity) to Latvia, and electrical equipment (incl. communication equipment) to Sweden. The biggest decline was registered in exports to Latvia (down by 148 million euros), the United States (by 61 million euros), and India (by 40 million euros). Compared with August last year, there were decreased exports of mineral products (incl. electricity) to Latvia, electrical equipment (incl. communication equipment) to the US, and mineral products (incl. processed fuel oils) to India. The greatest increase (45-fold) occurred in exports to Singapore (up by 44 million euros), to which more mineral products (incl. shale oil) were exported than last year.
The main commodities imported in August were electrical equipment (14% of Estonia’s total imports), mineral products (12%), agricultural products and food preparations (12%), and transport equipment (12%). The biggest fall was recorded in the imports of mineral products – down by 359 million euros. The imports of mechanical appliances and raw materials and products of chemical industry decreased respectively by 31 million and 20 million euros. Imports of transport equipment increased the most, by 16 million euros.
In August, the top partner countries for Estonia’s imports of goods were Finland (15% of Estonia’s total imports), Germany (12%), and Lithuania (11%). The main commodities imported were mineral products (incl. electricity) from Finland, transport equipment (incl. motor cars) from Germany, and mineral products (incl. gas oils) from Lithuania. The biggest fall occurred in imports of goods from Finland (down by 142 million euros), Russia (by 96 million euros), and Latvia and Lithuania (by 54 million euros each). Compared with August 2022, fewer mineral products were imported from these countries. There were lower imports of electricity from Finland, processed fuel oils from Russia, natural gas from Latvia, and gas oils from Lithuania. Imports from Denmark increased the most, by 26 million euros, with more imports of wind turbines than last year.
| Month | Exports, million euros | Imports, million euros | Balance, million euros | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2023 | Change, % | 2022 | 2023 | Change, % | 2022 | 2023 | |
| TOTAL | 14,087 | 12,208 | -13 | 16,472 | 14,195 | -14 | -2,385 | -1,987 |
| January | 1,637 | 1,498 | -9 | 1,782 | 1,659 | -7 | -145 | -162 |
| February | 1,509 | 1,526 | 1 | 1,770 | 1,641 | -7 | -261 | -115 |
| March | 1,985 | 1,706 | -14 | 2,171 | 1,914 | -12 | -186 | -209 |
| April | 1,601 | 1,501 | -6 | 2,137 | 1,747 | -18 | -536 | -247 |
| May | 1,929 | 1,646 | -15 | 2,229 | 1,969 | -12 | -301 | -323 |
| June | 1,838 | 1,596 | -13 | 2,144 | 1,854 | -14 | -306 | -258 |
| July | 1,698 | 1,265 | -26 | 2,049 | 1,645 | -20 | -351 | -380 |
| August | 1,890 | 1,472 | -22 | 2,190 | 1,765 | -19 | -300 | -293 |
| 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 | 1,472 | 100 | -22 | TOTAL | 1,765 | 100 | -19 |
| EU-27 | 1,097 | 75 | -14 | EU-27 | 1,508 | 85 | -16 |
| Euro area 20 | 833 | 57 | -15 | Euro area 20 | 1,129 | 64 | -19 |
| Non-EU | 375 | 25 | -39 | Non-EU | 257 | 15 | -37 |
| 1. Finland | 266 | 18 | -2 | 1. Finland | 273 | 15 | -34 |
| 2. Latvia | 190 | 13 | -44 | 2. Germany | 205 | 12 | -10 |
| 3. Sweden | 142 | 10 | -19 | 3. Lithuania | 201 | 11 | -21 |
| 4. Lithuania | 128 | 9 | 12 | 4. Latvia | 181 | 10 | -23 |
| 5. Germany | 82 | 6 | -10 | 5. Poland | 133 | 8 | -9 |
| 6. Norway | 56 | 4 | -14 | 6. Sweden | 130 | 7 | -18 |
| 7. Poland | 51 | 3 | -1 | 7. Netherlands | 90 | 5 | 9 |
| 8. Netherlands | 50 | 3 | 18 | 8. China | 88 | 5 | -3 |
| 9. Singapore | 45 | 3 | - | 9. Denmark | 60 | 3 | 78 |
| 10. Russia | 36 | 2 | -45 | 10. Italy | 43 | 2 | -5 |
| 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 | 1,472 | 100 | -22 | 1,765 | 100 | -19 | -293 |
| Agricultural products and food preparations (I–IV) | 151 | 10 | -22 | 212 | 12 | 4 | -61 |
| Mineral products (V) | 180 | 12 | -57 | 218 | 12 | -62 | -38 |
| Raw materials and products of chemical industry (VI) | 77 | 5 | -2 | 152 | 8 | -12 | -74 |
| Articles of plastics and rubber (VII) | 47 | 3 | -6 | 87 | 5 | -13 | -40 |
| Wood and articles of wood (IX) | 147 | 10 | -21 | 49 | 3 | -14 | 98 |
| Paper and articles thereof (X) | 32 | 2 | -31 | 30 | 2 | -6 | 2 |
| Textiles and textile articles (XI) | 36 | 3 | -9 | 76 | 4 | 3 | -41 |
| Base metals and articles of base metal (XV) | 114 | 8 | -25 | 158 | 9 | -7 | -44 |
| Machinery and mechanical appliances (84) | 146 | 10 | -4 | 170 | 10 | -15 | -24 |
| Electrical equipment (85) | 206 | 14 | -12 | 244 | 14 | 2 | -38 |
| Transport equipment (XVII) | 132 | 9 | 15 | 207 | 12 | 8 | -75 |
| Optical, measuring, precision instruments (XVIII) | 41 | 3 | -14 | 35 | 2 | -11 | 6 |
| Miscellaneous manufactured articles (XX) | 106 | 7 | -10 | 46 | 3 | -4 | 60 |
| Other | 57 | 4 | -2 | 81 | 4 | -4 | -24 |
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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Helen Maria Raadik
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Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9181
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