Statistics: Trade deficit down by over 40 percent on year to August
Estonia's balance of trade deficit as of August stood at €169 million, down by €122 million on August 2023's figure, or by nearly 42 percent, state agency Statistics Estonia reports.
Exports of goods fell by 1 percent; imports by 8 percent, on year to August.
Exports of goods were valued at nearly €1.5 billion, imports at more than €1.6 billion, at current prices.
Evelin Puura, foreign trade statistics team lead at Statistics Estonia, "Compared with August 2023, exports to EU countries decreased by 3 percent and imports from EU countries by 8 percent. At the same time, extra-EU exports were up by 6 percent."
Puura added that trade in August was affected by the continued decline in exports and imports in trade with EU countries.
The main commodities exported from Estonia in August were: Electrical equipment (16 percent of the total), agricultural products and food (11 percent), and wood and timber products (11 percent).
The largest falls in exports were seen in in mineral fuels (down €31 million) and mechanical appliances (down by €26 million). Electrical equipment exports saw the largest increase (of €25 million).
Estonia's top export partners were Finland (15 percent of the total), Latvia (13 percent), and Sweden (9 percent).
Key exports included electrical equipment to Finland, mineral fuels to Latvia, and wooden products to Sweden.
Exports to Singapore fell by €44 million, and to Finland by €39 million, due to lower mineral product volumes.
On the other hand, exports to the Netherlands grew by €34 million due to higher shipments of shale oil.
In August 2024, exports of goods of Estonian origin fell by 2 percent on year, with the share of Estonian-origin goods in total exports remaining steady at 63 percent.
The main imports were: Agricultural products, food preparations, electrical equipment, and mineral products, each making up 13 percent of the total.
Electrical equipment imports dropped by €39 million; those of mechanical appliances by €35 million, while agricultural products and food preparations imports rose by €10 million on year to August.
Top import partners were Finland (16 percent of the total), Lithuania (11 percent), and Germany (also 11 percent).
Imports from Denmark, Finland, Germany, and the U.S. saw significant declines, while imports from Sweden grew by €5 million.
Statistics Estonia conducted the above research on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
More detailed information is available from Statistics Estonia here, here and here.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
