Industrial production decreased by 0.5% in February

Riin Kadarik, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that manufacturing production, which had increased for three months, started to decrease in February. “This was influenced by the decline in production volume in the manufacture of food products and electrical equipment, down by 5.3% and 9.5%, respectively. The lower output in the manufacture of food products is related to the fall in retail trade volume and demand as well as the rise in food prices. The decrease in the manufacture of electrical equipment was mainly due to the high reference base, as the volume of production was high in February last year,” explained Kadarik.

The volume of production increased in slightly more than half of manufacturing activities. Among the major industries, output increased by 1.5% in the manufacture of wood, by 4% in the manufacture of fabricated metal products and by 1.1% in the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products.

In February 2026, 67% of the total production of manufacturing was sold to the external market.

Compared with February 2025, the sales of manufacturing production decreased by 3.1% at current prices according to working-day adjusted data. Domestic sales rose by 0.8%, while export sales fell by 5.2%.

In February compared with January, the seasonally adjusted total industrial production fell by 0.7% and the production of manufacturing by 0.8%.

In the energy sector, output increased at constant prices, but the volume of electricity production in megawatt-hours decreased by 3.8% in February. “The production of heat was up by 10.2% in February year on year, as winter temperatures were lower than usual,” added Kadarik.

Volume index of industrial production – an index that expresses the change in the volume of industrial production at constant prices compared with the base period. The producer price index is used for calculating the production values at constant prices.

Value index of industrial sales – an index that expresses the change in the value of sold industrial production at current prices compared with the base period.

Industry is the largest sector of the economy and an important driver of economic growth. The index of industrial production covers the economic indicators of three industrial activities: mining, energy production, and manufacturing.

Statistics Estonia performs the statistical activity “Production indices” for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications with the aim to determine the economic situation in Estonia.

Data as at 6 April 2026 are published. The indicator values may change if there are any revisions made in the data sources after this date.

Information about various industrial activities can be found on the business dashboards. See also the industry section on our website. More detailed data have been published in the statistical database. 

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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