According to the Department of Statistics, merchandise exports in April increased by 54% compared to the same month and imports by 51%. Both the low comparative base of the previous year and the increase in exports and imports of mineral products, electrical equipment and vehicles have had a significant impact on trade growth.
The increase in foreign trade was affected by the poor performance of last year’s trade and the rise in sales of mineral products, electrical equipment, and vehicles. Mineral exports increased by 185 per cent. According to the central bank, foreign trade turnover is growing for the second consecutive quarter and has already reached pre-crisis levels. Exports of goods are becoming increasingly diversified.
“We predicted that the volume of the commodity market should return to the level of 2019 by this time. Now we see an increase in activity everywhere, and in this sense, Estonian exports are even slightly ahead of forecasts. The Bank of Estonia’s economist Mari Rell noted that it keeps up with imports – businessmen are actively replenishing their warehouses”. In addition to solid growth in merchandise exports, services exports, particularly in info-technology, have also grown over a long period.
According to Luminor’s chief economist, Tindu Palma, Estonia was the fastest-growing exporting country in Europe in the first quarter after Slovakia. He noted that export growth in April had depended not so much on the increase in material prices and the increase in sales. “The entire European economy will also perform well in the coming months. We see that confidence in the export of services is also improving, so next month we can expect a good performance of Estonian exports,” said Luminor’s chief economist Tynu Palm. Palm added that the growth in trade shows that Estonia’s economy will grow faster this year than initially anticipated.
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