October trade up 11 percent on year
According information released by Statistics Estonia on Monday morning, this October, the exports and imports of goods each increased by 11 percent on year.
In October 2017, exports from Estonia amounted to €1.1 billion and imports to Estonia to €1.3 billion. The trade deficit was €159 million, up from €141 million last October.
This October, the top destination countries of Estonia's exports were Finland (17 percent of Estonia's total exports), Sweden (12 percent) and Latvia (nine percent). Electrical equipment and base metals and articles of base metal were the primary commodities exported to Finland; electrical equipment and miscellaneous manufactured articles such as prefabricated wood buildings, pillows, blankets were the main commodities exported to Sweden; agricultural products and food preparations (cheese, beer), and transport equipment (motor cars) were the main commodities exported to Latvia.
The biggest increase occurred in exports to Finland (up by €30 million), Singapore (up by €20 million) and the U.S. (up by €18 million). In exports to Finland, the exports of base metals and articles of base metal, mechanical appliances, and agricultural products and food preparations increased the most; to Singapore, the exports of mineral products (shale oil); and to the U.S., the exports of mineral products (motor spirits) increased the most. The biggest decrease occurred in exports to Sweden (down by €31 million).
The biggest share in exports was held by electrical equipment, followed by wood and articles of wood and agricultural products and food preparations. The greatest increase was in the exports of base metals and articles of base metal (up by €34 million), mechanical appliances (up by €28 million), and wood and articles of wood (up by €25 million). The exports of electrical equipment, meanwhile, decreased (down by €22 million).
The share of goods of Estonian origin in total exports was 73 percent in October. The exports of goods of Estonian origin and their re-exports both grew 11 percent. 74 percent of the goods of Estonian origin were exported to the European Union in October 2017. Compared to October 2016, the EU's share in these exports decreased by four percent.
The main countries of consignment this October were Finland (13 percent of Estonia's total imports), Germany (11 percent), Lithuania (10 percent), and Latvia (10 percent). Electrical equipment and base metals and articles of base metal were the main commodities imported from Finland; transport equipment and electrical equipment from Germany; mineral products and agricultural products and food preparations from Lithuania and Latvia. The biggest increase occurred in imports from Latvia (up by €29 million), Lithuania (up by €23 million) and Finland (€21 million). Imports from the Netherlands, meanwhile, decreased the most.
The main commodities imported to Estonia were electrical equipment, transport equipment, agricultural products and food preparations, mineral products and mechanical appliances. The biggest increase was in the imports of mineral products (up by €50 million), raw materials and products of the chemical industry (up by €24 million), and base metals and articles of base metal (up by €21 million), while the biggest fall occurred in the imports of electrical equipment (down by €10 million).
Editor: Aili Vahtla