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In December 2017, the foreign trade turnover of Latvia amounted to EUR 2.14 bln, which at current prices was 6.8% more than in December 2016, of which the exports value of goods was 7.3% and imports value of goods was 6.4% higher. In December, Latvia exported goods in the amount of EUR 951.9 mln but imported – in the amount of EUR 1.19 bln. Compared to December 2016, foreign trade balance has improved slightly as exports in total foreign trade amount increased from 44.2% to 44.4%.

Calendar and seasonally adjusted data at current prices show that, compared to December 2016, in December 2017 the exports value went up by 12.7% and the imports value by 11.7%, whereas, compared to the previous month, the exports value remained the same while the imports value increased by 4.2%.

Main changes in exports in December 2017, compared to December 2016:

     - exports of vegetable products up by EUR 40.2 mln or 2.0 times,

     - exports of prepared foodstuffs up by EUR 13.6 mln or 15.1%,

     - exports of products of the chemical and allied industries up by EUR 10.8 mln or 15.0%,

     - exports of mineral products up by EUR 9.1 mln or 19.9%,

     - exports of optical instruments and apparatus (including medical); clocks and watches, musical instruments down by EUR 6.9 mln or 24.1%.

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Main changes in imports in December 2017, compared to December 2016:

- imports of machinery and mechanical appliances; electrical equipment up by EUR 50.7 mln or 20.8%,

- imports of basic metals and articles of basic metals up by EUR 24.4 mln or 30.2%,

- imports of prepared foodstuffs up by EUR 15.0 mln or 16.5%,

- imports of vehicles, aircraft, vessels and associated transport equipmentup by EUR 12.3 mln or 11.4%,

- imports of mineral products down by EUR 11.9 mln or 11.5%.

In December 2017, the main export partners of Latvia in trade with EU countries were Lithuania (17.6% of total exports), Estonia (11.5%), Germany (7.2%) and Sweden (5.6%), whereas the main import partners were Lithuania (17.4% of total imports), Germany (11.4%), Poland (8.7%) and Estonia (8.3%).

Foreign trade of Latvia in December 2017 by country group, (at current prices)

Russia was the main partner in trade with third countries; its share in total Latvian exports in December accounted for 10.7%, whereas in imports – for 8.3%.

Main commodities in exports of Latvia in December 2017 (at current prices)

The rise in the exports of cereals in December 2017, as compared to November 2016, was facilitated by an increase in the exports of wheat and meslin by EUR 29.0 mln or 5.3 times. In turn, a drop was experienced in the exports of wood and articles of wood; wood charcoal as exports of fuelwood fell by EUR 9.7 mln or by 30.1%.

Main commodities in imports of Latvia in December 2017 (at current prices)

The rise in the imports of machinery and mechanical appliances in December 2017, as compared to December 2016, was facilitated by an increase in the imports of turbojets, turbopropellers and other gas turbines by EUR 30.4 mln.In turn, a drop was experienced in the imports of mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation, as the imports of natural gas in gaseous state dropped by EUR 12.7 mln or 41.2%.

More information on the foreign trade of Latvia by month and quarter, as well as by country group and commodity group is available in the Foreign trade section of the CSB database.