Goods exports saw their fastest growth of the year in April, giving grounds to hope for good export growth rates for the year as a whole. Although constraining geopolitical risks remain, including the US trade tariff war, businesses are nonetheless managing to keep increasing the value of the goods they export.

In April 2025, the value of both goods exports and imports at current prices rose year on year, by 8.9% and 4.7% respectively. The trade balance therefore improved in April year on year, standing at -7.4%.

The value of mineral product exports continued to grow year on year. Exports of vehicles, milk and dairy products, pharmaceutical products, wood and wood products, and animal and vegetable fats also increased. Meanwhile, the value of exports of beverages, organic chemical products, and electrical machinery and equipment declined.

Exports to Latvia's main market, the EU countries, grew rapidly. In April this year, compared with the corresponding period a year earlier, exports to EU countries rose by 11.2%. Export value grew fastest to Lithuania (vehicles), the Netherlands (miscellaneous chemical products, wood), Finland (mineral products) and Denmark (animal and vegetable fats).

At the same time, export volumes to the CIS countries fell substantially year on year, by 14.1%, including a drop of 16.4% to Russia. Beverage exports still account for a large share of all exports to Russia. Clothing, footwear, perfumery and other goods not subject to sanctions are also exported.

Exports to other countries continued to grow in April, by 11%. Within this group of countries, export value rose substantially to Nigeria and Trinidad (mineral products to both) and Algeria (cereals). It fell, however, to the USA (optical devices, organic chemical compounds) and Turkey (iron and steel).

In April, the year-on-year growth in imports was positively influenced by the rise in the value of imports of mineral products and vehicles. Imports of beverages and animal feed, by contrast, declined.

Overall, in the first four months of 2025, goods exports at current prices were 4.6% higher than a year earlier, while goods imports over the same period rose by 8.3%.