Imports reached a new record level in October

In October, Estonia’s exports of goods amounted to 1.6 billion euros and imports to 1.8 billion euros at current prices. The trade deficit was 164 million euros, while in October 2020 there was a trade surplus of 27 million euros. The deficit was the largest in the trade of raw materials and products of chemical industry, base metals and articles of base metal, and transport equipment.

Evelin Puura, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, noted that, in October, the imports of goods reached yet another record level. “Compared to October 2020, there has been a rise in imports in most commodity sections. In the case of mineral fuels, imports were significantly boosted by the rising prices of raw materials. For example, the purchase prices of electrical energy and liquefied natural gas (LNG) have risen four times year on year, and the price of gaseous natural gas has increased five times,” explained Puura.

The main commodities exported in October were mineral fuels, electrical equipment, and wood and articles of wood. Compared to October 2020, the biggest increases occurred in the exports of mineral fuels (up by 122 million euros), wood and articles of wood (up by 47 million euros) and electrical equipment (up by 43 million euros).

The main partner country for Estonia’s exports of goods was Finland, followed by Latvia and Sweden. The biggest increase occurred in exports to Latvia, Finland and the United Kingdom. There were larger dispatches of electrical energy to Latvia, natural gas and prefabricated wooden buildings to Finland, and processed fuel oil and prefabricated wooden buildings to the United Kingdom.

Re-exports from Estonia increased by 34% and exports of domestic goods by 12%. Goods of Estonian origin accounted for 71% of the total exports of goods. In the case of goods of Estonian origin, the biggest rise occurred in the exports of processed fuels, prefabricated wooden buildings and scrap metal and metal waste.

The main commodities imported to Estonia were mineral fuels, electrical equipment, and base metals and articles of base metal. The imports of mineral fuels increased the most (up by 150 million euros), followed by imports of base metals and articles of base metal (up by 68 million euros), wood and articles of wood (up by 34 million euros) and electrical equipment (up by 34 million euros).

The top partner countries for Estonia’s imports of goods were Finland, Lithuania and Germany. Year on year, the biggest rise was recorded in imports from Finland, Lithuania and Russia. There were greater imports of electrical energy from Finland, motor fuel from Lithuania and fuel oils from Russia.

(Source: https://www.stat.ee/en/node/183280)