According to Statistics Estonia, in March 2024, exports of goods decreased by 16% and imports by 15% compared with March 2023.

Jane Leppmets, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that, in March this year, the biggest decrease occurred in trade with European Union (EU) countries. “Trade with non-EU countries grew by 3%, but trade with EU countries declined with exports falling by 22% and imports by 18%. The greatest fall was registered in trade with our neighbouring countries Finland and Latvia,” added Leppmets.

The share of goods of Estonian origin in total exports rose by 4 percentage points compared with March 2023, reaching 68% in March this year. The exports of goods of Estonian origin decreased by 11% year on year.

Leppmets said that, in March, the top partner countries for exports of goods were Finland (15% of Estonia’s total exports) and Sweden (10% of total exports). The main commodities exported were electrical equipment to Finland, and electrical equipment and wood and articles of wood to Sweden. Compared with March 2023, the biggest fall occurred in exports of goods to Finland (down by 116 million euros), due to the termination of exports of natural gas, and to Latvia (down by 53 million euros), due to decreased exports of electricity. The greatest increase occurred in exports to Singapore (up by 41 million euros), where Estonia exported more mineral products (incl. shale oil).

Exports of goods amounted to about 1.5 billion and imports to 1.7 billion euros at current prices. The trade deficit was 216 million euros, which is 14 million euros less than in March last year.

Imports from the USA grew the most

The main commodities exported in March were electrical equipment (15% of Estonia’s total exports), agricultural products and food preparations (13%), and wood and articles of wood (13%). Compared with March 2023, the biggest fall occurred in the exports of mechanical appliances (down by 52 million euros), mineral products (down by 41 million euros), base metals and articles of base metal (down by 35 million euros), and miscellaneous manufactured articles (down by 35 million euros). “A rise was registered in the exports of agricultural products and food preparations, including cereals, which increased by 12 million euros,” said Leppmets.

The main commodities imported in March were electrical equipment, and agricultural products and food preparations (each representing 13% of Estonia’s total imports), followed by transport equipment (12%). Compared with March 2023, the biggest fall occurred in the imports of mineral products (down by 80 million euros), transport equipment (down by 51 million euros), and electrical equipment (down by 48 million euros). There was an increase in the imports of agricultural products and food preparations (up by 12 million euros).

In March, the main partner countries for imports of goods were Germany (13% of Estonia’s total imports), Latvia (12%) and Finland (12%). The main commodities imported were transport equipment from Germany, and mineral products from Latvia and Finland. Compared with March 2023, the biggest fall occurred in imports of goods from Finland (down by 85 million euros) and Latvia (down by 45 million euros). This was due to decreased arrivals of mineral products, specifically reduced imports of electricity from Finland and natural gas from Latvia.

Leppmets added that imports from the USA grew the most (by 20 million euros) as there were more arrivals of electrical equipment than the year before.

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