Trade
In 2004, Poland was Estonia’s 11th largest trade partner with a total special trade turnover of 268.4 million EUR, or 2.3% of total Estonian special trade.
In 2005, Poland rose as Estonia’s 10th largest trade partner with a total special trade turnover of 380 million EUR, comprising 2.6% of total Estonian special trade.
Estonia exported goods worth 70 million EUR and Poland was Estonia’s 17th largest export partner. Estonia imported from Poland goods worth 310 million EUR ranking Poland as 7th largest import partner for Estonia.
Compared to the previous year, Estonian exports to Poland grew by 43% and imports by 38%.
Estonia’s trade balance was negative by 240 million EUR. In other words, imports exceeded exports 4,3 times.
Main export articles in 2005:
Wood and wood products – 19.8%
Metals and metal products – 19.5%
Textiles and textile products – 11.9%
Machinery and equipment – 10.4%
Main import articles in 2005:
Machinery and equipment – 15.6%
Chemical products – 12.9%
Metals and metal products – 10,8%
Ready made foodstuffs,drinks and tobacco – 10.7%
Poland is Estonia’s largest Central European trade partner.
Trade between the two countries has been growing since 1993. In following the dynamics of Estonian-Polish trade, it can be said that Poland is a stable and firm trade partner. This is shown by the fact that trade with Poland has grown similar to the growth of Estonia’s total trade.
The increases in trade volumes over the years have varied greatly. While total trade volume has grown almost twelve times since 1995 and the import of Polish products into Estonia has grown almost 21.5 times, the export of Estonian products to Poland has grown only four times.
There are several reasons for this. One reason was the absence of a free trade agreement between the two countries until the beginning of 1999. While Estonian entrepreneurs were hindered in their access to the Polish market, Estonia employed a duty-free foreign trade policy. Secondly, Polish goods have been quite popular in Estonia due to the favourable relation between price and quality. However, Estonian goods are not well known in Poland.
Investments
According to the Bank of Estonia, as of 31 December 2005, Estonian investments to Poland amounted 5.2 million EUR. The position of Polish foreign direct investments to Estonia was -15.7 million EUR.
Tourism
In 2003, 38,053 Poles visited Estonia, which was a 30% increase from 2002. Poland is also a popular tourist destination for Estonians.
Since the end of March 2000, a regular bus line was launched between Estonia and Poland. In October 2000, the Polish airline LOT re-established regular air traffic between Tallinn and Warsaw.
Source: Estonian Embassy in Warsaw
