Skip to content

Export prices rose 0,7 per cent
Yearly summary (detailed data): Volume of exports fell by 4,7 per cent in 2015

Publication date 24.3.2016 9.00 | Published in English on 28.12.2016 at 12.53
Press release

According to Finnish Customs’ preliminary data, the value of Finland’s goods exports declined by four per cent in 2015. The value of exports amounted to 53.8 billion euros. The value of imports declined by six per cent and amounted to 54.3 billion euros. Compared to recent years, there was a significant reduction in the trade deficit last year. The trade balance showed a deficit of 427 million euros in 2015.

According to Finnish Customs’ preliminary data, the value of Finland’s goods exports declined by four per cent in 2015. The value of exports amounted to 53.8 billion euros. The decrease in the value of exports last year was due to the decrease of export volume by 4.7 per cent. Export prices grew by 0.7 per cent. The increase of the export prices of machinery and equipment and paper and cardboard compensated the fall of export prices of petroleum products. The value of imports declined by six per cent and amounted to 54.3 billion euros. The value of imports declined mainly due to the decrease in prices. Import prices fell by 4.7 per cent and the volume of imports by 0.8 per cent. In 2014, exports remained at the level of the previous year and imports decreased by a per cent. At that time, the volume of exports increased by 2.3 percent and export prices fell by two per cent. The volume of imports grew by 1.5 per cent, while import prices fell by 2.8 per cent.

Compared to recent years, there was a significant reduction in the trade deficit last year. The trade balance showed a deficit of 427 million euros in 2015. The deficit amounted to 1.8 billion euros in 2014, and in 2013, the deficit was 2.4 billion euros. In 2015, the deficit in the trade with EU countries rose, however, and was close to 2.2 billion euros, but in extra-EU trade there was a surplus of almost 1.8 billion euros. In 2014, the extra-EU trade deficit amounted to 70 million euros and that of EU trade to 1.7 billion euros.

The decline in total exports was mainly influenced by two factors: a steep downturn in the value of exports of oil products and a considerable slump in exports to Russia. The value of exports of oil products fell by 41 per cent, while exports to Russia declined by 32 per cent. Export prices of petroleum products fell by 27 per cent and the volume of exports by a fifth. When excluding oil products and exports to Russia, there was an increase of 3.6 per cent in overall exports. Other exports from the chemical industry decreased by five per cent, exports from the metal industry by three per cent. Transport equipment was the most important growth sector in exports in 2015, with an increase of 30 per cent. Forest industry products increased by three per cent, while exports of machinery and equipment were down by two per cent.

Total imports showed a decline of six per cent in 2015, again due to a steep fall of 37 per cent in the value of imports of energy products.  There was also a slight decline in imports of intermediate goods, three per cent. Imports of capital goods increased by seven per cent, however, and the imports of durable consumer goods by ten per cent.  

Exports to the EU-countries decreased by a per cent in 2015. Exports to the euro zone, on the other hand, went up by six per cent. Exports to non-EU countries shrank by eight per cent. In 2014, exports to EU countries increased by four per cent, while exports to non-EU countries decreased by five per cent. Imports from all EU countries increased by a per cent, when there had been an increase of two per cent in 2014. A decrease of 15 per cent in the value of imports from outside the EU brought down the overall imports again in 2015. In 2014, imports in extra-EU trade went down by five per cent.

Finnish Customs, Statistics
Enquiries:
Telasuo, Christina tel. +358 40 332 1828
Kaarna, Anssi tel. +358 40 332 8153
Riikonen, Johanna tel. +358 40 332 1824
E-mail: firstname.surname@tulli.fi
Statistics bulletin