Estonia's trade deficit doubled to €288 million in August
Estonia's trade deficit doubled on year in August, data from Statistics Estonia show. Imports from Russia fell by 55 percent and imports from Belarus by 96 percent during the same time period.
Estonia's exports of goods amounted to nearly €1.9 billion and imports to almost €2.2 billion euros at current prices in August.
But the trade deficit was €288 million – it grew by €170 million and was over two times higher than in August last year.
Evelin Puura, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said the country increased its exports and imports the most with other EU countries.
In trade with non-EU countries, there was a rise in exports, while imports decreased.
The biggest fall occurred in imports from Russia and Belarus.
"Compared with August 2021, there were several key commodities no longer imported from Belarus, including mineral products (incl. oils, bitumen), wood and articles of wood (incl. sawn timber, plywood), and base metals and articles of base metal (incl. wire, bars and rods, metal pipes). In imports from Russia, there has been a drastic decrease in the imports of mineral products (incl. oils, fuels) and there have been no imports of wood and articles of wood," Puura said.
The main commodities exported in August were mineral fuels and electricity, electrical equipment, wood and articles of wood, and agricultural products and food preparations.
The biggest fall was registered in the exports of electrical equipment (down by €12 million).
The main partner country for Estonia's exports of goods was Latvia, followed by Finland and Sweden. The main commodities exported were electricity and motor cars to Latvia, natural gas, engine parts and metal structures to Finland, and prefabricated wooden buildings and communication equipment to Sweden.
The biggest increase occurred in exports to Latvia, India and Finland.
"There were larger dispatches of electricity, scrap metal and motor cars to Latvia, greater exports of processed fuel oil to India, and bigger dispatches of natural gas and rape to Finland," explained Puura.
The main commodities imported to Estonia were mineral fuels and electricity, electrical equipment, transport equipment, agricultural products and food preparations, and machinery and mechanical appliances.
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Editor: Helen Wright
