In March, there was a boost in trade
According to Statistics Estonia, in March, exports of goods increased by 19% and imports by 20% year on year. The growth in foreign trade was mainly driven by trade in electrical equipment, mineral products, wood and articles of wood, and transport equipment.
In March, Estonia’s exports of goods amounted to 1.5 billion euros and imports to 1.7 billion euros at current prices. The trade deficit was 186 million euros, having increased by 35 million euros compared to March 2020.
Evelin Puura, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that higher prices of materials as well as increased volumes had a significant impact on trade growth. “The exports of goods of Estonian origin grew by as much as 28%, while re-exports stayed at the same level,” added Puura.
The main commodities exported were electrical equipment, mineral products, and wood and articles of wood. Compared to March 2020, the biggest increases occurred in the exports of mineral products (up by 61 million euros), wood and articles of wood (up by 49 million euros) and transport equipment (up by 33 million euros).
The main partner country for Estonia’s exports in goods was Finland, followed by Sweden and Latvia. The biggest increases were in exports to Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and the USA. Growth was recorded in the exports of barley and processed mineral oils to Saudi Arabia, wood pellets and processed mineral oils to the United Kingdom and communication equipment to the USA. The biggest decrease was in exports to Sweden, with smaller dispatches of communication equipment.
Goods of Estonian origin accounted for 73% of the total exports of goods. The biggest rise occurred in the exports of processed mineral oils, shale oil, motor fuel, barley, wood pellets, wood strips and coniferous sawn timber of Estonian origin.
The main commodities imported to Estonia were mineral products, electrical equipment, transport equipment, and machinery and mechanical appliances. The imports of mineral fuels increased the most (up by 82 million euros), followed by imports of electrical equipment (up by 52 million euros), transport equipment (up by 51 million euros) and machinery and mechanical appliances (up by 42 million euros).
Goods were imported the most from Finland, Germany and Latvia, with the biggest increases in imports also recorded from these countries. The main imports from Finland were motor fuels, from Germany passenger vehicles and precious metals, and from Latvia mineral oils for processing.
| Month | Exports, million euros | Imports, million euros | Balance, million euros | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2021 | Change, % | 2020 | 2021 | Change, % | 2020 | 2021 | |
| TOTAL | 3,472 | 3,923 | 13 | 3,763 | 4,295 | 14 | -291 | -372 |
| January | 1,148 | 1,191 | 4 | 1,165 | 1,307 | 12 | -17 | -116 |
| February | 1,090 | 1,261 | 16 | 1,212 | 1,331 | 10 | -122 | -70 |
| March | 1,235 | 1,471 | 19 | 1,387 | 1,657 | 20 | -152 | -186 |
| 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 | 1,471 | 100 | 19 | TOTAL | 1,657 | 100 | 20 |
| EU-27 | 956 | 65 | 12 | EU-27 | 1,259 | 76 | 20 |
| Euro area 19 | 671 | 46 | 16 | Euro area 19 | 945 | 57 | 21 |
| Non-EU | 516 | 35 | 35 | Non-EU | 398 | 24 | 17 |
| 1. Finland | 214 | 15 | -2 | 1. Finland | 214 | 13 | 31 |
| 2. Sweden | 136 | 9 | -18 | 2. Germany | 195 | 12 | 35 |
| 3. Latvia | 126 | 9 | 22 | 3. Latvia | 168 | 10 | 35 |
| 4. USA | 108 | 7 | 39 | 4. Lithuania | 146 | 9 | 2 |
| 5. Lithuania | 94 | 6 | 38 | 5. Russia | 145 | 9 | 24 |
| 6. Germany | 93 | 6 | 14 | 6. Sweden | 132 | 8 | 18 |
| 7. Russia | 69 | 5 | 6 | 7. Poland | 108 | 7 | 13 |
| 8. Denmark | 66 | 5 | 59 | 8. Netherlands | 64 | 4 | 3 |
| 9. United Kingdom | 55 | 4 | 161 | 9. China | 56 | 3 | 37 |
| 10. Norway | 47 | 3 | 18 | 10. Belarus | 42 | 3 | 159 |
| Commodity section (chapter) by Combined Nomenclature (CN) | Balance, million euros | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exports, million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % | Imports, million euros | Share, % | Change on previous year, % | ||
| TOTAL | 1,471 | 100 | 19 | 1,657 | 100 | 20 | -186 |
| Agricultural products and food preparations (I–IV) | 129 | 9 | 18 | 151 | 9 | 0 | -22 |
| Mineral products (V) | 199 | 14 | 44 | 239 | 14 | 52 | -40 |
| Raw materials and products of chemical industry (VI) | 71 | 5 | 9 | 159 | 10 | 2 | -88 |
| Articles of plastics and rubber (VII) | 48 | 3 | 19 | 90 | 5 | 16 | -41 |
| Wood and articles of wood (IX) | 178 | 12 | 38 | 74 | 5 | 38 | 104 |
| Paper and articles thereof (X) | 33 | 2 | 15 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Textiles and textile articles (XI) | 37 | 2 | 9 | 58 | 3 | 2 | -21 |
| Base metals and articles of base metal (XV) | 122 | 8 | 21 | 138 | 8 | 11 | -16 |
| Machinery and mechanical appliances (84) | 111 | 8 | 8 | 182 | 11 | 30 | -70 |
| Electrical equipment (85) | 216 | 15 | 10 | 191 | 12 | 38 | 25 |
| Transport equipment (XVII) | 109 | 7 | 44 | 182 | 11 | 39 | -74 |
| Optical, measuring, precision instruments (XVIII) | 43 | 3 | 0 | 33 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| Miscellaneous manufactured articles (XX) | 115 | 8 | 6 | 45 | 3 | 18 | 70 |
| Other | 60 | 4 | -3 | 89 | 5 | -14 | -29 |
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. Visualised data of Estonia’s foreign trade can be viewed in Statistics Estonia’s application.
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.
For further information:
Kadri Kütt
Media Relations Manager
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9181