Latvia’s foreign trade turnover totalled EUR 21.39bn at current prices in the first half of 2023, which was down EUR 963.9mn (4.3%) from the corresponding period of 2022, according to provisional data from the Central Statistical Bureau, LSM reports. The total value of exports amounted to EUR 9.62bn (down 4.5%) and of imports to EUR…
The number of foreign tourists visiting Estonia totalled 1,110,431 in the second quarter of 2023, which was up 19% from the same period of 2022, according to data from the Bank of Estonia, ERR reports. Foreign tourists spent a total of EUR 375mn in Estonia, which was EUR 62mn more than a year earlier. Meanwhile,…
Estonia’s goods exports totalled EUR 4.8bn in the second quarter of 2023, which was down 11% from the same period of 2022, according to Statistics Estonia’s data, ERR reports. Imports totalled EUR 5.6bn, which was down 15% over a year. Estonia’s trade deficit thus stood at EUR 802mn, which was down by EUR 329mn from…
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics called for a review of existing electricity distribution tariffs, LSM reports. Speaking after a meeting with Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins, Rinkevics said that the behaviour of the market regulator, the Public Utilities Commission (SPRK), was “unacceptable.” He insisted that the increase in electricity tariffs was “disproportionate.” The new tariffs came into…
The amount of VAT violations in Estonia doubled in the first seven months of 2023, according to the Estonian Tax and Customs Board (EMTA), BNS reports. EMTA inspected and advised 5,000 companies over the period, resulting in increased VAT obligations of EUR 35.8mn, which is twice as much as a year earlier and EUR 6mn…
Latvia’s average level of consumer prices increased by 6.4% in July 2023, compared to the corresponding period in 2022, according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau, LSM reports. Consumer prices were mainly influenced by the rise in food and non-alcoholic beverage prices and of goods and services related to housing, as well as by…
Estonia should prioritise trade with free democratic societies, where the political risk is smallest, Estonian MEP Urmas Paet (Reform/Renew Europe), deputy chairman of the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee, argues. Writing in an opinion piece for ERR, Paet criticised Estonia’s state-run export promotion agency, Enterprise Estonia, for advocating closer economic ties with Vietnam, which has…
Estonia’s consumer price index (CPI) rose by 6.4% on year in July 2023, according to data from Statistics Estonia, ERR reports. Prices of goods rose by 8.1% and services by 3.1%. The increase in food and non-alcoholic beverage prices accounted for more than half of the total rise in consumer prices. At the same time,…
The prime ministers of the three Baltic States have signed a joint declaration to speed up the synchronisation of the Baltic power grids with the continental European network, ERR reports. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that the Baltic States would disconnect from the Russian-controlled BRELL system as soon as it was technically possible. She…