Estonia's trade deficit in June was down by €33 million on year to €271 million, the agency said in a press release.

In the second quarter of 2023, the country's goods exports declined by 11 percent and imports by 15 percent on year. Goods exports totaled €4.8 billion and imports €5.6 billion, while the trade deficit totaled €802 millon, down by €329 million on year.

Jane Leppmets, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that, compared with June 2022, the most notable decline occurred in the exports of goods of Estonian origin.

"In June 2023, exports of goods of Estonian origin were down 20 percent on year," Leppmets noted. "Re-exports remained close to last year's level — down by 1 percent — meaning that the decline in exports resulted primarily from the decreased exports of goods of Estonian origin."

The biggest fall, she added, was registered in the exports of mineral fuels of Estonian origin.

The main commodities exported in June were electrical equipment (15 percent of Estonia's total exports), mineral products (11 percent) and transport equipment (11 percent). The biggest fall was recorded in the exports of mineral products (down by €220 million), while exports of wood and articles of wood decreased by €59 million and exports of miscellaneous manufactured articles by €30 million.

Compared with June 2022, the biggest increases were recorded in the exports of transport equipment (up by €61 million), mechanical appliances (up by €27 million) and agricultural products and food preparations (up by €15 million).

Estonia's top export partner in June was Finland (15 percent of total exports), followed by Latvia (12 percent), Sweden (9 percent) and Lithuania (9 percent). The main commodities exported were electrical equipment, including static converters, to Finland, mineral products, including electricity, to Latvia, electrical equipment, including communication equipment, to Sweden, and transport equipment, including motor vehicles, to Lithuania.

The biggest decline in June was registered in exports to the United States, Latvia and Egypt. On year, Estonia saw decreased exports of electrical equipment, including communication equipment, to the U.S., lower exports of mineral products, including electricity, to Latvia, and fewer dispatches of mineral products, including various mineral oils, to Egypt.

The biggest increase on year occurred in exports to Singapore and Lithuania, including increased exports of mineral products, including various mineral oils, to Singapore and greater exports of transport equipment, including motor vehicles, to Lithuania.

Imports from Russia down, from Lithuania up

The main commodities imported to Estonia in June were transport (14 percent of total imports), electrical equipment (12 percent), mineral products (12 percent) and agricultural products and food preparations (12 percent).

The biggest fall was recorded in the imports of mineral products (down by €198 million), while imports of wood and articles of wood decreased by €64 million and imports of base metals and articles of base metal by €51 million. The biggest increases, meanwhile, were recorded in imports of transport equipment (up by €58 million) and agricultural products and food preparations (up by €16 million).

In June, the top partner countries for Estonia's goods imports were Finland (16 percent of the country's total imports), Germany (11 percent), Lithuania (10 percent) and Latvia (10 percent). The main commodities imported were mineral products, including electricity, from Finland, transport equipment, including motor cars, from Germany, mineral products, including petroleum oils, from Lithuania, and mineral products, including natural gas, from Latvia.

The biggest fall occurred in imports from Russia, Finland and Sweden, due to decreased imports of mineral products. On year, this June saw fewer imports of various mineral oils from Russia, lower imports of electricity from Finland as well as smaller imports of mineral and petroleum oils from Sweden. Imports from Lithuania increased the most, meanwhile, thanks to increased imports of mineral products, including petroleum oils.

Statistics Estonia performs the statistical activity "Foreign trade" for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications with the aim of determining how exporting and importing enterprises are performing in Estonia.

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