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Foreign trade – importing and exporting

Considerations for the investor:

• All customs clearance procedures are carried through electronically.
• Common customs tariff duties are applicable to all goods imported into the EU.
• Large importers may apply for deferred taxation.
• VAT is not imposed on the import of goods subject to immediate tax warehousing on the condition that the recipient of the imported goods is the keeper of the tax warehouse.
• No special registration is required for exporters and importers, unless they do not need to use special customs procedures.
• Exporters and importers must have EORI registration.

With Estonia’s export markets (Estonia’s main export partners are, in addition to euro-area members, our neighbouring countries: Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia.) expanding by an average of 6.6% this year, external demand volume, which suffered a rapid fall in 2009, is now back on the growth path. The growth of Estonia’s main trading partners will remain below the pre-crisis average in the next years. Export markets are assumed to increase by 6.3% in 2011 and by 6.6% in 2012.

The main export goods are machinery and equipment, wood and paper products, textiles, food products, and metals and chemical products. Estonia also exports approximately 1.5 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually.

The main imported goods are machinery and equipment, fuel and other chemical products, textiles, food products, and means of transport. Estonia imports 200 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually.

Estonia’s foreign trade, January–February, 2009–2010

Month	Exports, million kroons			Imports, million kroons			Balance, million kroons
	2009	2010	Change, %	2009	2010	Change, %	2009	2010
January	7 269	8 058	11	8 830	8 487	-4	-1 561	-429
February	7 817	9 676	24	8 755	9 538	9	-938	138

Exports: €6.5 billion (2009)
Imports: €7.3 billion (2009)

Main Exports and Imports in 2009 (as a % of total trade)

Main Commodity Groups	Exports	Main Commodity Groups	Imports
Machinery and appliances	19.6	Mineral products	20.1
Mineral products	16.8	Machinery and appliances	19.2
Agricultural products and food preparations	10.0	Agricultural products and food preparations	12.7
Base metals and articles of base metals	8.7	Chemical products	9.4
Wood and articles of wood	8.6	Base metals and articles of base metals	7.7
Miscellaneous manufactured articles	8.3	Transport equipment	6.3
Transport equipment	6.5	Articles of plastics and rubber	5.4
Chemical products	5.5	Textile products	5.3
Textiles and textile articles	4.0	Paper and articles of paper	2.7
Paper and articles of paper	3.3	Wood and articles of wood	2.6
Articles of plastics and rubber	3.1	Miscellaneous manufactured articles	2.5
Others	5.6	Others	6.1

Source: Statistics of Estonia

More Information on Foreign Trade:

• Estonian Tax and Customs Board: www.emta.ee
• Statistics Estonia: http://www.stat.ee/?lang=en
• Estonian Investments and Trade Agency: www.investinestonia.com; www.tradewithestonia.com
• Estonian Trade: www.estoniantrade.ee
• Doing Business in Estonia: www.doingbusiness.org/ExploreEconomies/?economyid=65