In April foreign trade turnover in goods was 13 % larger than last year

Provisional data of the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) show that in April 2018 the foreign trade turnover of Latvia amounted to EUR 2.13 billion, which at current prices was 13.0 % more than in April 2017, of which the exports value of goods was 15.3 % and imports value of goods was 11.0 % higher. In April, Latvia exported goods in the amount of EUR 985.9 million but imported – in the amount of EUR 1.14 billion. Compared to April 2017, foreign trade balance has improved as exports in total foreign trade amount increased from 45.3 % to 46.3 %.

Over the first four months of this year, the foreign trade turnover of Latvia at current prices reached EUR 8.41 billion – EUR 613.9 million or 7.9 % more than in the corresponding period of 2017. The exports value constituted EUR 3.85 billion (an increase of EUR 317.5 million or 9.0 %), whereas the imports value – EUR 4.56 billion (an upturn of EUR 296.4 million or 7.0 %).

Foreign trade of Latvia
(million euros)

Data on April, May, June 2017 and January 2018 have been revised

Calendar and seasonally adjusted data at current prices show that, compared to April 2018, in April 2018 the exports value at current prices went up by 10.0 % and the imports value by 5.4 %, whereas, compared to the previous month, the exports value increased by 2.9 %, but the imports value reduced by 2.0 %.

Main changes in exports in April 2018, compared to April 2017:

exports of wood and articles of wood up by EUR 36.5 million or 24.4 %,
exports of vegetable products up by EUR 23.1 million or 48.9 %,
exports of vehicles and associated transport equipment up by EUR 15.3 million or 29.3 %,
exports of prepared foodstuffs up by EUR 15.1 million or 22.3 %,
exports of live animals and animal products down by EUR 4.0 million or 10.6 %.

Main changes in imports in April 2018, compared to April 2017:

imports of machinery and mechanical appliances; electrical equipment up by EUR 25.4 million or 11.6 %,
imports of basic metals and articles of basic metals up by EUR 18.1 million or 21.2 %,
imports of prepared foodstuffs up by EUR 16.8 million or 20.9 %,
imports of vegetable products up by EUR 14.1 million or 29.9 %,
imports of mineral products down by EUR 2.0 million or 2.2 %.

In April, the main export partners of Latvia in trade with EU countries were Lithuania (15.1 % of total exports), Estonia (10.7 %), Germany (7.9 %) and Sweden (7.8 %), whereas the main import partners were Lithuania (17.7 % of total imports), Germany (11.3 %), Poland (9.1 %) and Estonia (7.9 %).

The main partner in trade with third countries was Russia, share of which in total Latvian exports in April accounted for 8.7 %, but in imports – 6.4 %.

Foreign trade of Latvia by country groups in April 2018,
(at current prices)

	Exports			Imports
	million EUR	% of total	changes as %, compared to April 2017	million EUR	% of total	changes as %, compared to April 2017
Total	985.9	100	15.3	1 144.6	100	11.0
European Union countries	696.2	70.6	14.6	884.6	77.3	6.6
euro area countries	455.2	46.2	11.7	658.8	57.6	7.7
CIS countries	127.6	12.9	23.5	113.8	9.9	19.3
other countries	162.1	16.5	12.6	146.2	12.8	38.2

The rise in the exports of cereals in April 2018, as compared to April 2017, was facilitated by an increase in the exports of wheat and meslin by EUR 21.4 million or 95.8 %. In turn, exports of iron and steel dropped as exports of waste and scrap of cast iron decreased by EUR 11.8 million or 65.1 %.

Main commodities in exports of Latvia in April 2018
(at current prices)

	thousand EUR	as % of total	Changes as %, compared to
	thousand EUR	as % of total	April 2017	March 2018	average of previous 12 months
Total	985 924	100	15.3	2.0	1.9
wood and articles of wood; wood charcoal	185 826	18.8	24.4	-2.6	16.1
electrical machinery and equipment	88 079	8.9	-8.2	-17.9	-16.1
machinery and mechanical appliances	67 433	6.8	40.3	9.9	-1.3
vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories thereof	58 983	6.0	23.3	0.1	9.7
cereals	47 254	4.8	98.3	9.5 times	38.7
beverages, spirits and vinegar	40 234	4.1	24.9	6.1	-19.3
mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation	40 213	4.1	10.0	-0.01	-1.4
iron and steel	36 585	3.7	-20.1	-19.7	0.3
articles of iron and steel	36 216	3.7	24.1	-1.8	12.7
pharmaceutical products	32 767	3.3	-7.3	-8.1	-8.3

Rise of imports of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages in April 2018, as compared to April 2017, was affected by the increase in imports of spirits by EUR 5.1 million or 42.6 %. 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 13.0 million or 73.5 %.

Main commodities in imports of Latvia in April 2018
(at current prices)

	thousand EUR	as % of total	Changes as %, compared to
	thousand EUR	as % of total	April 2017	March 2018	average of previous 12 months
Total	1 144 553	100	11.0	-6.2	-3.2
machinery and mechanical appliances	126 886	11.1	24.9	-2.7	1.2
electrical machinery and equipment	118 532	10.4	0.1	5.1	9.4
vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories thereof	102 608	9.0	3.7	-2.0	0.2
mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation	80 000	7.0	-5.8	-27.0	-22.2
plastics and articles thereof	54 069	4.7	16.1	11.2	7.0
iron and steel	53 550	4.7	35.3	-16.8	13.3
pharmaceutical products	51 309	4.5	8.3	-7.1	2.0
wood and articles of wood; wood charcoal	49 960	4.4	37.5	11.8	26.1
beverages, spirits and vinegar	38 724	3.4	42.7	2.4	-15.0
articles of iron and steel	28 004	2.4	19.1	-8.3	-2.4

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.

Media requests:
Communication Section
E-mail: media@csb.gov.lv
Phone: +371 67366621, +371 27880666

More information on data:
Lilita Laganovska
Foreign Trade Statistics Methodology, Analysis and Dissemination Section
E-mail: Lilita.Laganovska@csb.gov.lv
Phone: +371 67366604