In April, the total production of industrial enterprises increased by 3.8% at constant prices compared to April 2021, data from Statistics Estonia showed. The biggest fall was in the mining sector.
Output increased in two of the three industrial sectors: by 3.7% in manufacturing and by 9.6% in electricity production. In mining, output fell by 13%.
Industry is the largest sector of the economy and an important driver of economic growth.
Helle Bunder, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said in April production volumes increased in more than a half of manufacturing activities.
“But the growth has slowed down slightly compared to recent months,” noted Bunder.
Among the activities with the largest shares, there was an increase in production in the manufacture of electronic products (7.9%), building materials (5.2%), food products (5.7%) and wood (0.8%).
Output decreased in the manufacture of fabricated metal products (3.8%) and furniture (2.4%).
66.8% of the total production of manufacturing was sold to the external market.
The share of export sales was the highest in the manufacture of computers and electronic products. According to unadjusted data, the export sales of manufacturing production increased by 20.9% and domestic sales by 29% at current prices compared to April 2021.
In April compared to March, the seasonally adjusted total industrial production increased by 0.8% and the production of manufacturing by 0.9%.
In energy production, compared to April 2021, the volume of electricity production (in megawatt-hours) increased by 27.9%, while the production of heat decreased by 0.6%. (ERR/Business World Magazine)
