Evelin Puura, the agency's team lead for foreign trade statistics, said that in September, exports and imports decreased significantly in almost all commodity sections. "In the third quarter, the biggest fall was registered in trade with non-EU countries. Exports to third countries were down by 41 percent and imports from these countries fell by 44 percent. The decrease was the greatest in the exports and imports of mineral products. There was also a significant decline in the exports of electrical equipment and wood and articles of wood, and in the imports of base metals and articles of base metal and mechanical appliances," Puura added.

The main commodities exported in September were electrical equipment (13 percent of Estonia's total exports), wood and articles of wood (11 percent), and transport equipment (11 percent). The biggest fall was recorded in the exports of mineral products – down €214 million. The exports of electrical equipment decreased by €86 million, and the exports of wood and articles of wood by €50 million. An increase was seen only in the exports of transport equipment, which rose by €17 million euros.

Exports of goods of Estonian origin were 24 percent lower and reexports 26 percent lower than in the same month last year. The decline in the exports of goods of Estonian origin resulted primarily from the decreased exports of communication equipment, processed fuel oils and sawn timber.

Finland was Estonia's top export partner in September (16 percent of total exports), followed by Latvia (14 percent) and Sweden (10 percent). The biggest decline was registered in exports to Latvia (down by €106 million), and to the USA (down by €89 million).

The main commodities imported in September were mineral products (14 percent of total imports), electrical equipment (13 percent), agricultural products and food preparations (12 percent), and transport equipment (12 percent). The biggest fall was recorded in the imports of mineral products – down by €182 million. The imports of mechanical appliances and electrical equipment decreased by €51 million and €44 million, respectively.

In September, the top partner country for Estonia's imports of goods was Finland (18 percent of total imports), followed by Germany (11 percent) and Lithuania (11 percent). The main commodities imported were mineral products (incl. natural gas) from Finland, transport equipment (incl. motor cars) from Germany, and mineral products (incl. diesel fuel) from Lithuania. The biggest fall occurred in imports of goods from Latvia (down by €61 million), Russia (down by €50 million), and Belgium (down by €45 million). There were fewer imports of mineral products from Russia, Latvia as well as Belgium.

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