After a rise in April this year Estonian export falled again in May. Photo: Pixabay
In May 2024, Estonia’s exports of goods decreased by 6% and imports by 13% compared with May 2023, according to Statistics Estonia. Exports of goods amounted to nearly €1.6 billion and imports to almost €1.7 billion at current prices.
Jane Leppmets, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that, after a rise in April, foreign trade started to fall again in May, as both exports and imports of goods declined. “The biggest contributor was re-exports, which fell by 10% in May compared with 2023,” Leppmets added.
The main commodities exported in May were electrical equipment (14% of Estonia’s total exports), agricultural products and food preparations (11%), and wood and articles of wood (11%). The biggest year-on-year decreases were seen in exports of transport equipment (down by €49 million, or 25%) and mineral products (by €24 million, or 14%). Exports of agricultural products and food preparations increased the most, by €15 million (9%).
Exports of goods of Estonian origin were 3% lower and their share in total exports increased by 2 percentage points year on year, accounting for 66% of total exports in May 2024.
Neighboring countries were Estonia´s top export partners
Estonia’s top export partner in May was Finland (15% of total exports), followed by Latvia (13%) and Sweden (10%). The main commodities exported were electrical equipment to Finland and Sweden and mineral products to Latvia.
In comparison with May 2023, the biggest decline occurred in exports of goods to Lithuania (down by €17 million, or 12%) and Russia (by €16 million, or 29%). The greatest increase was seen in exports to Norway (up by €16 million, or 27%) and Germany (by €14 million, or 13%).
Source: Statistics Estonia
The main commodities imported in May were agricultural products and food preparations (14% of Estonia’s total imports), electrical equipment (12%), and transport equipment (12%). Compared with May last year, the biggest fall occurred in the imports of mechanical appliances (down by €67 million, or 30%), transport equipment (by €56 million, or 22%), and electrical equipment (by €41 million, or 16%). The largest increase was recorded in the imports of agricultural products and food preparations (up by €26 million, or 12%).
Primary imports: minerals dominate
The top partner country for Estonia’s imports of goods in May was Finland (15% of total imports), followed by Lithuania, Germany and Latvia (all accounting for 11% of total imports).
The main commodities imported were mineral products from Finland and Lithuania, transport equipment from Germany, and agricultural products and food preparations from Latvia. Year on year, imports of goods decreased the most from Finland (down by €60 million, or 19%), Germany (by €55 million, or 23%) and Sweden (by €51 million, or 33%), and increased from Belgium (up by €14 million, or 37%) and Indonesia (by €14 million, or 15 times).
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