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In September, export turnover was the highest of the year in Estonia

Kadri Kütt, Statistics Estonia, Tallinn, 09.11.2020.Print version
According to Statistics Estonia, in September 2020, compared to September 2019, the exports of goods increased by 11% and imports decreased by 4%. Compared to the third quarter of 2019, exports grew by 1% and imports declined by 5%.

In September, both Estonia’s exports and imports of goods amounted to 1.3 billion euros at current prices. The trade surplus was 4 million euros. Year on year, the trade deficit narrowed by 165 million euros. The last time that the trade balance was positive was in December 2010.


According to Evelin Puura, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, trade was in recovery mode in the third quarter. “In September, export turnover was the highest of this year, which had a positive impact on the whole quarter. The main contributors to the growth in exports were electronics industry with communications equipment and agricultural sector with dispatches of cereals,” explained Puura.


In September, the top destination country of Estonia’s exports was Finland, followed by Sweden and Latvia. Exports increased the most to the USA and China, where more communications equipment was exported compared to last year. The biggest decreases occurred in exports to Denmark and France. Compared to the previous year, less shale oil was exported to Denmark and less electrical equipment to France.




The biggest exports from Estonia were electrical equipment, agricultural products and food preparations, wood and articles of wood, and mineral products. Compared to September 2019, the exports of electrical equipment increased by 75 million euros and the exports of agricultural products and food preparations by 31 million euros. The biggest decrease (by 7 million euros) occurred for exports of mineral products.


Of the total exports of goods, the goods of Estonian origin accounted for 74%. Their exports increased by 15% and re-exports decreased by 1%, compared to last year’s September. The biggest increases occurred in the exports of communication equipment, barley, wheat, rye and scrap metal, and the biggest decrease in the export of shale oil.


The main countries of consignment were Finland, Germany and Latvia. Imports decreased the most from Russia and Lithuania, with the biggest decline in the imports of motor fuel. The imports of goods increased the most from Poland on account of the import of buses.


The main commodities imported to Estonia were electrical equipment, transport equipment, mechanical appliances, and agricultural products and food preparations. The biggest decreases occurred in the imports of bulldozers and loaders to be re-exported and the biggest increase in the imports of transportation equipment.


Estonia’s foreign trade by month, 2019–2020
MonthExports, million eurosImports, million eurosBalance, million euros
20192020Change, %20192020Change, %20192020
TOTAL10,81910,219-61,201710,898-9-1,199-678
January1,1581,147-11,2791,162-9-121-15
February1,1631,089-61,2511,209-3-88-119
March1,2391,23601,4061,385-1-167-149
1st quarter3,5603,472-23,9353,755-5-375-284
April1,2411,017-181,3891,085-22-148-68
May1,3351,002-251,4341,090-24-100-89
June1,1751,17401,2831,174-9-1080
2nd quarter3,7503,192-154,1063,349-18-356-157
July1,1741,164-11,3751,290-6-201-126
August1,1481,081-61,2461,197-4-98-117
September1,1861,311111,3551,307-4-1694
3rd quarter3,5083,55613,9763,794-5-468-238

Main foreign trade partners of Estonia, September 2020
Country of destination, group of countriesExports, million eurosShare, %Change on same month of previous year, %Country of consignment, group of countriesImports, million eurosShare, %Change on same month of previous year, %
TOTAL1,31110011TOTAL1,307100-4
EU-27860664EU-271,02078-2
Euro area 19615474Euro area 1973856-5
Non-EU and United Kingdom4513425Non-EU and United Kingdom28722-9
1. Finland20015-11. Finland17313-1
2. Sweden13811172. Germany144112
3. Latvia1209153. Latvia1249-2
4. USA967394. Lithuania1219-12
5. Germany856275. Poland107826
6. Lithuania756-66. Sweden1078-8
7. Russia615-117. Russia766-33
8. Netherlands443148. China61543
9. Norway423-89. Netherlands524-8
10. Denmark413-2710. Italy333-3

Exports and imports by commodity section, September 2020
Commodity section (chapter) by Combined Nomenclature (CN)Exports, million eurosShare, %Change on same period of previous year, %Imports, million eurosShare, %Change on same period of previous year, %Balance, million euros
TOTAL1,311100111,307100-44
Agricultural products and food preparations (I–IV)164122313110-633
Mineral products (V)12810-51169-3013
Raw materials and products of chemical industry (VI)675-11209-8-53
Articles of plastics and rubber (VII)43367965-37
Wood and articles of wood (IX)1291005441575
Paper and articles thereof (X)242-6232-61
Textiles and textile articles (XI)36346653-30
Base metals and articles of base metal (XV)1078221129-8-5
Mechanical appliances (84)1078-513110-10-25
Electrical equipment (85)218175317213645
Transport equipment (XVII)87621621215-76
Optical, measuring, precision instruments (XVIII)514333832113
Miscellaneous manufactured articles (XX)1018-1373-364
Other514-6655-8-14

Statistics Estonia performs the statistical activity “Foreign trade” for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications with the aim to determine how exporting and importing enterprises are performing in Estonia.


See also the foreign trade section on our website.


More detailed data have been published in the statistical database. Due to rounding, the sum of rows in some tables may differ from the sum total of the column. Visualised data of Estonia’s foreign trade can be viewed in Statistics Estonia’s application.







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