Foreign trade grew by 14% in Q1, growth slowed down in Q2

“In the first half of 2025, foreign trade in goods increased by 9%. Exports of goods amounted to nearly €9.3 billion and imports to almost €11.1 billion at current prices,” said Jane Leppmets, foreign trade analyst at Statistics Estonia.

“The main commodities exported in the first half of the year were electrical equipment, agricultural products and food preparations, and wood and articles of wood. The main commodities imported were transport equipment, agricultural products and food preparations, and electrical equipment,” Leppmets noted, adding that the top export and import partners in the first six months of the year were Finland, Latvia, Germany, Lithuania, and Sweden.

According to the analyst, foreign trade increased by 14% in the first quarter of 2025. However, growth slowed down in the second quarter. “Exports and imports of goods in the second quarter were up by 4% compared with the same quarter last year. The main commodities exported were electrical equipment (15% of Estonia’s total exports), agricultural products and food preparations (13%), transport equipment (11%), and wood and articles of wood (11%). The main commodities imported were transport equipment (15% of Estonia’s total imports), agricultural products and food preparations (13%), and electrical equipment (12%). Estonia’s top export partners in the second quarter were Finland (15% of total exports) and Latvia (11%), whereas Germany, Finland, and Latvia were the main import partners (each accounting for 11% of total imports),” added Leppmets.

Electrical equipment was the most exported commodity in June

The trade deficit in June was €304 million, which is €3 million smaller than in June last year. The main commodities exported in June were electrical equipment (16% of Estonia's total exports), agricultural products and food preparations (12%), and transport equipment (12%). The biggest year-on-year increases were seen in the exports of transport equipment (up by €29 million, or 21%) and the greatest decline was recorded in the exports of mineral products (down by €20 million, or 16%).

“Compared with June 2024, re-exports grew by 8% in June 2025, and exports of goods of Estonian origin by 5%. The share of goods of Estonian origin in total exports fell by one percentage point and was 64% in June this year,” Leppmets stated.

Estonia’s top export partner in June was Finland (14% of total exports), followed by Latvia (10%) and Sweden (10%). The main commodities exported were electrical equipment to Finland and Sweden and transport equipment to Latvia. Year on year, the greatest increase occurred in exports to Singapore (up by €52 million), where more mineral products were exported. Exports to Latvia declined the most, by €37 million, with fewer exports of mineral products.

Imports of transport equipment grew the most

The main commodities imported in June were transport equipment (16% of Estonia’s total imports), agricultural products and food preparations (13%), and electrical equipment (13%). Compared with June 2024, the biggest increase occurred in the imports of transport equipment (up by €50 million, or 22%) and the greatest decrease was seen in the imports of mineral products (down by €92 million, or 44%).

“Estonia’s top import partners in June were Germany (11% of total imports), followed by Finland (10%), Latvia (10%), and Lithuania (10%). The main commodities imported were transport equipment from Germany, mineral products from Finland, agricultural products and food preparations from Latvia, and mineral products from Lithuania,” the analyst said. Compared with June last year, the greatest rise occurred in imports from the Netherlands (up by €38 million), with increased arrivals of mineral products. The biggest fall occurred in imports of goods from Finland, which were down by €68 million, mainly due to fewer arrivals of mineral products.

Starting from 2025, Statistics Estonia prepares EU imports statistics using detailed data and estimates from other Member States concerning 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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For further information:

Silvia Uus
Team Lead
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 5194 4157
press [at] stat.ee (press[at]stat[dot]ee)