Analytics, Baltic Export, Estonia, Foreign trade , Markets and Companies

"Even though the growth of export and import prices decelerated slightly in the second quarter, they continued to strongly support foreign trade revenue. The export volume of goods, or growth without the impact of price change, remained nearly the same in the second quarter as at the same time the year before and the volume of import increased 3%," Mertsina said.

He said that the growth in export revenue has been fast and is a result of increased external demand and the growth in export prices. "Regardless of export growth's deceleration in the second quarter, the growth of export has been strong this year.

This is due to both improved external demand and an increase in export prices. As Estonia's export transactions are mostly carried out in euros and transactions with the U.S. dollar only account for a tenth of the total, the stronger euro should not have a direct negative impact on our export," Mertsina said.

He said that the export expectations and outlooks of Estonian business operators have improved and are more and more optimistic. "An especially strong leap in the positive direction happened in the second and third quarter, when assessments are significantly above the ten years' average," he said.

"The European economy at present is still in a cycle of growth. We estimate that strong external demand will remain in the near future, but next year we expect a modest deceleration in its growth. This means that businesses need to make an even stronger effort in order to improve their competitiveness," Mertsina said.