Baltic Export, Estonia, Good for Business, Markets and Companies, Woodwork

In the global economy, signs of recovery could be noticed last year, as the result of which, the timber industry market grew in certain regions. Some contraction in the construction sector in Estonia reduced demand for timber industry products. Total industry sector sales grew by over 10% and sales for exports by 12% in a year.

Total wages in the sector increased slightly over the previous year, a bit over 5%. The number of employed increased by six% and the growth of productivity per employee amounted to nearly 8%.

Exports are still important for the Estonian timber industry, making up more than two-thirds of the total volume of sales and is approaching a billion euros in value. The main export partners were in 2013 Sweden, Norway and Finland, where almost a half of total exports went. There was continued strong growth in the Latvian direction.

A positive tendency is export growth of wooden houses, where Estonia has become Europe's biggest exporter. The main target market is still in Norway. Estonia exports in the same volume also parts of buildings (windows, doors, laminated timber, etc.), whose exports to France and Japan are growing rapidly.

Timber industry is one of the largest industries in Estonia, and nearly a thousand companies are active in the sector, employing more than 15 thousand people.