Exports of goods reached last year’s level
According to Statistics Estonia, in June 2020, compared to June 2019, the exports of goods remained at the same level and imports decreased by 8%. In the second quarter of 2020, exports decreased by 15% and imports by 18% year on year.
Estonia’s exports and imports of goods amounted equally to 1.2 billion euros at current prices. The trade deficit was 11 million euros; it decreased by 97 million euros compared to June 2019.
According to Evelin Puura, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, after the steep decline caused by the global pandemic, in June, exports recovered to last year’s level. “The main contributors to the recovery of exports were wood and metal industries. In the second quarter as a whole, the main impact on trade came from decreased exports and imports of transport equipment and mineral products. By countries, exports decreased the most to the Netherlands and the USA, and imports dropped the most from Sweden and Lithuania,” added Puura.
In June, the top destination country of Estonia’s exports was Finland, followed by Sweden and Latvia. Exports increased the most to Australia (by 41 million euros) and Saudi Arabia (by 22 million euros). Compared to last year, more mineral products, such as motor fuel and oil, were exported to both countries. The biggest decrease occurred in exports to the USA (down by 42 million euros) and Denmark (down by 34 million euros). Compared to the previous year, less electrical equipment was exported to the USA, and exports to Denmark declined mainly on account of shale oil.
The biggest exports from Estonia were electrical equipment, mineral products, and wood and articles of wood. Compared to June 2019, both the exports of wood and articles of wood, and metal and metal products increased by 10 million euros. The biggest decrease occurred for exports of transport equipment (down by 30 million euros).
In June, goods of Estonian origin accounted for 71% of the total exports of goods. Their exports decreased by 2% and re-exports increased by 3%. The biggest decline occurred for fuels of Estonian origin.
The main countries of consignment were Finland, Germany and Latvia. Imports decreased the most from Sweden (down by 37 million euros) and Lithuania (down by 34 million euros). From Sweden, the imports of electrical and transport equipment, and from Lithuania, the imports of mineral products decreased the most. The imports of goods increased the most from China (by 19 million euros), with more electrical and protective equipment imported.
The main commodities imported to Estonia were electrical equipment, agricultural products and food preparations, mineral products and mechanical appliances. The biggest decrease occurred in the imports of mineral products and transport equipment and the biggest increase in the imports of precious metals.
| Month | Exports, million euros | Imports, million euros | Balance, million euros | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | change, % | 2019 | 2020 | change, % | 2019 | 2020 | |
| TOTAL | 7,306 | 6,671 | -9 | 8,039 | 7,114 | -12 | -733 | -443 |
| January | 1,158 | 1,147 | -1 | 1,278 | 1,162 | -9 | -120 | -15 |
| February | 1,163 | 1,090 | -6 | 1,251 | 1,209 | -3 | -88 | -118 |
| March | 1,238 | 1,238 | 0 | 1,405 | 1,385 | -1 | -166 | -147 |
| 1st quarter | 3,559 | 3,475 | -2 | 3,933 | 3,756 | -5 | -374 | -280 |
| April | 1,239 | 1,023 | -17 | 1,389 | 1,088 | -22 | -150 | -66 |
| May | 1,334 | 1,005 | -25 | 1,434 | 1,092 | -24 | -100 | -86 |
| June | 1,174 | 1,168 | 0 | 1,282 | 1,178 | -8 | -108 | -11 |
| 2nd quarter | 3,747 | 3,196 | -15 | 4,105 | 3,358 | -18 | -358 | -162 |
| Country of destination, group of countries | Exports, million euros | Share, % | Change on same month of previous year, % | Country of consignment, group of countries | Imports, million euros | Share, % | Change on same month of previous year, |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | 1,168 | 100 | 0 | TOTAL | 1,178 | 100 | -8 |
| EU-27 | 788 | 68 | -8 | EU-27 | 907 | 77 | -11 |
| Euro area 19 | 538 | 46 | -8 | Euro area 19 | 661 | 56 | -10 |
| Non-EU and United Kingdom | 380 | 32 | 18 | Non-EU and United Kingdom | 272 | 23 | 1 |
| 1. Finland | 189 | 16 | 1 | 1. Finland | 161 | 14 | -5 |
| 2. Sweden | 156 | 13 | 12 | 2. Germany | 120 | 10 | -5 |
| 3. Latvia | 112 | 10 | 2 | 3. Latvia | 112 | 9 | 0 |
| 4. Germany | 70 | 6 | 1 | 4. Russia | 102 | 9 | -5 |
| 5. Russia | 68 | 6 | 6 | 5. Sweden | 102 | 9 | -27 |
| 6. Lithuania | 65 | 6 | -17 | 6. Lithuania | 97 | 8 | -26 |
| 7. USA | 49 | 4 | -46 | 7. Poland | 85 | 7 | 2 |
| 8. Australia | 44 | 4 | - | 8. China s | 57 | 5 | 51 |
| 9. Norway | 40 | 3 | 8 | 9. Netherlands | 47 | 4 | -11 |
| 10. Poland | 37 | 3 | 26 | 10. Italy | 35 | 3 | 8 |
| Commodity section (chapter) by Combined Nomenclature (CN) | Exports | Imports | Balance, million euros | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| million euros | share, % | change on same period of previous year, % | million euros | share, % | change on same period of previous year, % | ||
| TOTAL | 1,168 | 100 | 0 | 1,178 | 100 | -8 | -11 |
| Agricultural products and food preparations (I–IV) | 105 | 9 | 8 | 138 | 12 | 4 | -33 |
| Mineral products (V) | 141 | 12 | -4 | 135 | 11 | -19 | 5 |
| Raw materials and products of chemical industry (VI) | 60 | 5 | -1 | 101 | 8 | -1 | -42 |
| Articles of plastics and rubber (VII) | 38 | 3 | 10 | 68 | 6 | -3 | -30 |
| Wood and articles of wood (IX) | 127 | 11 | 9 | 47 | 4 | 0 | 81 |
| Paper and articles thereof (X) | 25 | 2 | 2 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Textiles and textile articles (XI) | 28 | 2 | -8 | 47 | 4 | 3 | -19 |
| Base metals and articles of base metal (XV) | 101 | 8 | 11 | 108 | 9 | -8 | -8 |
| Mechanical appliances (84) | 103 | 9 | 7 | 127 | 11 | -5 | -25 |
| Electrical equipment (85) | 183 | 16 | -3 | 152 | 13 | -4 | 31 |
| Transport equipment (XVII) | 78 | 7 | -28 | 108 | 9 | -38 | -31 |
| Optical, measuring, precision instruments (XVIII) | 43 | 4 | 13 | 36 | 3 | 14 | 7 |
| Miscellaneous manufactured articles (XX) | 91 | 8 | -8 | 32 | 3 | 1 | 60 |
| Other | 46 | 4 | 8 | 57 | 5 | 21 | -11 |