According to data from the Central Statistical Bureau, in March 2024 the value of goods exports at current prices fell by 18.8% year on year, while the value of imports fell by 17%.
The year-on-year decline in export and import values is still partly attributable to falling prices.
In March this year, for the twelfth month in a row, the export value of mineral products continued to fall considerably year on year, which had a significant effect on the overall drop in export value. The export value of wood and wood products, electrical machinery and equipment, and cereals also fell markedly. Exports of machinery and appliances and of land vehicles declined more moderately. Exports of vegetables, animal and vegetable fats and oils, and organic chemical compounds, on the other hand, increased.
In March, exports to EU countries fell by 16.1% year on year. Export values fell most sharply to Lithuania and Finland (mineral products in both cases), Sweden (furniture, miscellaneous chemical products), Spain (cereals) and the Netherlands (miscellaneous chemical products, wood). Exports to Hungary (mineral products) and Belgium (organic chemical compounds), by contrast, increased.