According to Statistics Estonia, according to preliminary data, in 2012 the production of industrial enterprises remained on the level of the previous year. Export increased, but the sales on the domestic market decreased.
In 2012 no significant changes occurred in Estonian industry
A small growth in the production of manufacturing that took place at the beginning of 2012 compared to the same month of the previous year was replaced with a decline in March, which continued until the end of August. The main reason for the fall in production was the high reference base in the manufacture of electronic products, but also lower external demand had a negative impact. Since September the production in manufacturing grew significantly.
The main reason for the growth at the end of the year was the recovery in the production volume in the manufacture of electronic products, in other branches of industry no significant changes occurred. Despite the faster output growth in industrial production at the end of the year, the summary of 2012 remained on the last year's level.
In the last months of 2012, the production in manufacturing grew mainly due to the increase in exports. More than 70% of the whole production of manufacturing was sold on the external market. Export sales of the manufacturing production grew 3% compared to 2011. The demand on the domestic market was lower – in 2012 domestic sales decreased by 2% compared to the previous year.
In 2012, the production exceeded the volume of the previous year in almost half branches. The growth in the production of manufacturing was positively influenced by the branches holding bigger shares – the manufacturing of electronic products where the production increased 4% compared to 2011 and the manufacturing of wood and food products where the production grew 1% in both branches. The growth in the production of manufacturing was negatively influenced by the fall in the manufacturing of metal products, chemicals, furniture and motor vehicles.
In December 2012, the production of industry increased 7% compared to December 2011; the production of manufacturing grew 6%. In December compared to December 2011, the production of electricity increased 5% and the production of heat 48%.
In December 2012 compared to November, the seasonally adjusted industrial production fell 1%; the production of manufacturing 2% during the month.