Increased imports led to a higher trade deficit in April

Estonia’s exports of goods amounted to nearly 1.6 billion euros and imports to 2.1 billion euros at current prices. The trade deficit grew by 439 million euros compared to April 2021.

Evelin Puura, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that the main contributor to April’s big trade deficit was the trade in mineral fuels, where imports were 228 million euros higher than exports. “The biggest rise was recorded in imports of mineral fuels from Lithuania (up by 87 million euros), followed by Finland (up by 78 million euros), and Russia (up by 33 million euros),” stated Puura.           

The main commodities exported in April were wood and articles of wood, mineral fuels and electricity, and electrical equipment. Compared to April 2021, the biggest increase occurred in the exports of wood and articles of wood (incl. coniferous wood strips, planed fir boards, glue-laminated timber), which grew by 46 million euros. The exports of agricultural products and food preparations (incl. rapeseed oil, crude milk, cheeses) grew by 32 million euros, and the exports of miscellaneous manufactured articles (incl. prefabricated wooden buildings) by 21 million euros. The biggest decrease occurred in the exports of mineral fuels (down by 51 million euros) and electrical equipment (down by 33 million euros).

The main partner country for Estonia’s exports of goods was Finland, followed by Latvia and Sweden. “The main commodities exported were metal structures and parts of engines to Finland, electricity and automobiles to Latvia, and communication equipment and prefabricated wooden buildings to Sweden. The biggest increase occurred in exports to Latvia, Finland, and Sweden. More electricity was exported to Latvia, there were larger dispatches of metal structures to Finland and prefabricated wooden buildings to Sweden,” added Puura.

Re-exports from Estonia increased by 16%, while exports of domestic goods remained at last April’s level. Goods of Estonian origin accounted for 70% of the total exports of goods. In the case of goods of Estonian origin, the biggest rise occurred in the exports of wood and articles of wood (coniferous wood strips and planed fir boards), prefabricated wooden buildings, and base metals and articles of base metal (metal structures).

(Source: https://www.stat.ee/en/node/258680)