14.6.2023 | Estonia

The trade deficit narrowed in April

Text Mark Taylor
Photo Johan Taljaard / Unsplash

According to Statistics Estonia, in April 2023, Estonia’s exports of goods decreased by 4 per cent and imports by 18 per cent at current prices compared with April 2022. Foreign trade was most affected by the reduced trade in mineral fuels and wood products.

“In April, Estonia’s exports of goods amounted to 1.5 billion and imports to 1.8 billion euros at current prices. The trade deficit was 227 million euros in April. It decreased by about 305 million euros year on year, down from 532 million euros in April last year. But the continuing trend is that Estonia’s imports exceed exports,” said Jane Leppmets, an analyst at Statistics Estonia

The main commodities exported in April were electrical equipment, agricultural products and food preparations, and wood products. The biggest fall was recorded in the exports of mineral products (down by 53 million euros). The biggest increase occurred in the exports of agricultural products and food preparations (up by 27 million euros), transport equipment (up by 25 million euros), and mechanical appliances (up by 11 million euros).

Estonia’s top export partner in April was Finland (15 per cent of total exports), followed by Latvia (13 per cent) and Sweden (9 per cent). The biggest decline was registered in exports to the United States, Guatemala and Sweden. The greatest rise occurred in exports to Turkey, Singapore, and the Netherlands.

The main commodities imported to Estonia in April were electrical equipment, transport equipment, and agricultural products and food preparations. The biggest fall was recorded in the imports of mineral products (down by 232 million euros). The biggest increases were recorded in the imports of agricultural products and food preparations, and transport equipment (both up by 23 million euros), followed by the imports of electrical equipment (up by 19 million euros).

In April, the top partner countries for Estonia’s imports of goods were Finland (15 per cent of Estonia’s total imports), Germany (11 per cent), Latvia (10 per cent) and Lithuania (10 per cent). There were decreased imports of mineral oils from Russia and Lithuania, and fewer imports of electricity and light oils from Finland. There was a rise in imports from Denmark, the USA and Czechia.