Estonia shipped US$13.2 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2016, up by 26.1% since 2009 when the Great Recession kicked in but down by -5.2% from 2015 to 2016.

Estonia’s top 10 exports accounted for almost three-quarters (72%) of the overall value of its global shipments.

Based on statistics from the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook Database, Estonia’s total Gross Domestic Product amounted to $38.7 billion in 2016. Therefore, exports accounted for about 34% of total Estonian economic output.

From a continental perspective, 86.2% of Estonian exports by value are delivered to other European countries while 6% are sold to Asian importers. Estonia ships another 5% to North America while 1.5% worth in goods arrives in Africa.

Given Estonia’s population of 1.3 million people, its total $13.2 billion in 2016 exports translates to roughly $10,500 for every resident in that country.

Estonia’s unemployment rate was 6.6% as of December 2016 down from 6.4% one year earlier according to Trading Economics.

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Estonian global shipments during 2016. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Estonia.

1. Electrical machinery, equipment: US$2.8 billion (21.5% of total exports)
2. Wood: $1.3 billion (10.2%)
3. Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefab buildings: $1.1 billion (8.3%)
4. Machinery including computers: $1 billion (7.9%)
5. Mineral fuels including oil: $1 billion (7.7%)
6. Vehicles : $727.9 million (5.5%)
7. Articles of iron or steel: $467.2 million (3.5%)
8. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $393.8 million (3%)
9. Plastics, plastic articles: $349.7 million (2.7%)
10. Iron, steel: $222.4 million (1.7%)

Optical, technical and medical equipment was the fastest-growing among the top 10 export categories, up 141.8% in value for the 7-year period starting in 2009.

In second place for improving export sales was electrical machinery and equipment which gained 132.7%.

Estonian exported wood posted the third-fastest gain in value up 70.5%.

Leading the decliners among the top 10 Estonian exports was mineral fuels including oil which depreciated by-41.2% from 2009 to 2016, followed by vehicles (down -19.7%) and iron or steel (down -11.8%).

The following types of Estonian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports is the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

1. Wood: US$872.4 million (Up by 67.7% since 2009)
2. Furniture, bedding, lighting , signs, prefab buildings: $839.6 million (Up by 71.8%)
3. Electrical machinery, equipment: $183.2 million (Up by 342.9%)
4. Cereals: $101.4 million (Up by 411.7%)
5. Books, newspapers, pictures: $93.4 million (Up by 77.1%)
6. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $93.2 million (Down by -402.2%)
7. Woodpulp: $86 million (Up by 18.9%)
8. Dairy, eggs, honey: $78.4 million (Down by -0.8%)
9. Tanning, dyes, paints, varnishes, ink: $77.7 million (Up by 33.3%)
10. Articles of iron or steel: $70.2 million (Down by -6.1%)

Estonia has highly positive net exports in the international trade of lumber. In turn, these cashflows indicate Estonia’s strong competitive advantages under the wood product category.

Below are exports from Estonia that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Estonia’s goods trail Estonian importer spending on foreign products. Overall, Estonia incurred a -$1.8 billion trade deficit for all products during 2017 up by 94.2% from the -$914.1 million deficit in 2009.

1. Vehicles : -US$767.2 million (Down by -1,597% since 2009)
2. Machinery including computers: -$483 million (Up by 169.7%)
3. Pharmaceuticals: -$380 million (Up by 41%)
4. Plastics, plastic articles: -$298.2 million (Up by 37.3%)
5. Mineral fuels including oil: -$227.7 million (Down by -47.5%)
6. Iron, steel: -$193.6 million (Up by 1,004%)
7. Beverages, spirits, vinegar: -$124.1 million (Up by 47.6%)
8. Paper, paper items: -$110.4 million (Up by 4.6%)
9. Fruits, nuts: -$94.1 million (Up by 33.5%)
10. Perfumes, cosmetics: -$93.6 million (Up by 33.7%)

Estonia has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for cars and, to a lesser extent, trucks, tractors, public transportation vehicles, bicycles and motorcycles.

These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate Estonia’s competitive disadvantages in the international vehicles market, but also represent key opportunities for Estonia to improve its position in the global economy through focused innovations.