ESTONIA: economy shrinks 2% in Q1, but export recovers fast
10.06.2010, 09:32The contraction of Estonia's economy continued in Q1 of 2010, although at a much slower pace than in the previous quarters: the gross domestic product decreased by 2% in Q1. The country's export shows strong recovery.
In Q4 of 2009, the GDP declined by 9.5% year-on-year. According to the statistical office Eesti Statistika, the smaller decrease in Q1 2010 was mainly influenced by a lower comparison base. According to the preliminary calculations of Eesti Statistika, the GDP of Estonia amounted to EEK 50.5bn in Q1.
The domestic demand is still shrinking: in Q1, the overall demand fell by 11% y-o-y, while the consumption of households declined by 8%. Still, according to the seasonally and workday adjusted data, the GDP rose in Q1 by 2% compared to the previous quarter. In Q4 2009, the quarterly rise was 2.4%.
A major positive sign for the country's economy is the recovering export, as shown by the latest monthly statistics also published yesterday, on 9 June. According to the preliminary data of Eesti Statistika, exports of goods grew by 35% and imports by 16% at current prices in April 2010, y-o-y. Such a significant increase in exports was last registered in June 2006.
Estonian GDP change y-o-y:
Q1 2010: -2.0%
Q4 2009: -9.5%
Q3 2009: -15.6%
Q2 2009: -16.1%
Q1 2009: -15.0%
Q4 2008: -9.2%
Q3 2008: -3.2%
Q2 2008: -1.2%
Q1 2008: -0.3%
Q4 2007: +6.5%
Q3 2007: +5.8%
Q2 2007: +7.3%
Q1 2007: +9.4%