Preliminary statistics on the international trade in goods, March 2026

8.5.2026 9.00

Preliminary statistics, March 2026

Finnish Customs, Statistics

Export volume increased by 6.7 per cent in March according to preliminary data

According to the preliminary statistics of international trade in goods provided by Finnish Customs, the value of Finnish exports increased by 13.7 per cent in March year-on-year. The value of Finnish exports in March was EUR 7.4 billion. Export volume grew by 6.7 per cent and export prices increased by 6.8 per cent year-on-year.

The volume of imports increased by 5.5 per cent in March and import prices increased by 2.0 per cent compared to March 2025. The value of Finnish imports increased by 7.2 per cent. Value of imports was EUR 7.1 billion.

In January-March 2026, the aggregated value of exports increased by 5.2 per cent and the value of imports by 6.3 per cent year-on-year. In January-March 2026, year-over-year change of the aggregated average for export volume was +0.4 per cent. The corresponding figure for import volume was +6.6 per cent.

The trade balance was in surplus of EUR 250 million in March 2026. In January-March, the aggregated deficit amounted to EUR 905 million. In March 2025, the trade balance was EUR 155 million in deficit and in January-March of the same year, the aggregated deficit was EUR 670 million.

Imports from EU member states are compiled with data collected with a new method starting in January 2026. Other EU-countries data on exports to Finland is used in imports compilation. Only total values of imports are comparable with the year 2025. Finnish Customs will not publish any other yearly percentage change figures of imports during the statistical year 2026. The unit cost- and volume indices of international trade in goods are calculated according to the new data collection method, the percentage chances are comparable. Read more: Impact of the change in the data collection method for imports on the international trade statistics of goods.

Figure 1. Monthly values of exports, imports and trade balance 2024-2026. The content is explained in the text.

Volume of both internal and external exports increased in March

Value of exports to EU member states grew by 11.8 per cent, and to non-EU countries by 16.3 per cent in March compared to the same month the previous year. The volume of exports to EU countries increased by 5.8 per cent and to non-EU countries by 9.3 per cent during the same time.

Calculated from the beginning of the year, the value of exports to EU countries grew by 3.2 per cent and to non-EU countries by 8.0 per cent. The volume of exports to EU member states decreased by 0.5 per cent, but the volume of exports to non-EU countries increased by 3.0 per cent calculated according to the year-over-year change of the aggregated average of export volume.

Figure 2. Change of export values by month compared with the same month of the previous year 2024-2026. The content is explained in the text.

The volume of imports from EU member states increased by 5.6 per cent and from non-EU countries by 5.5 per cent year-over-year. The volume of imports from EU member states increased by 3.9 per cent and from non-EU countries by 9.9 per cent calculated according to the year-over-year change of the aggregated average of import volume.

Figure 3. Change of import values by month compared with the same month of the previous year 2024-2026. The content is explained in the text.

In this publication on preliminary statistics, Table 7 provides country-specific data on the value of exports and imports and percentage change of exports. The values in the table are provisional and significant changes are possible as the statistics are completed. Due to change in data collection method for imports from EU member states, the import data by country or by country group are not comparable to 2025.

Bulgaria joined the euro area in January 2026. Starting from the January 2026 preliminary statistics, Bulgaria has been added to the country group euro zone retroactively. Similar change was made in calculation of the seasonal adjusted and trend values. The impact on values is minor.

The monthly preliminary statistics release contains preliminary overall figures about Finland's international trade in goods. More precise figures of exports and imports as well as detailed statistics about specific countries and goods will be published at the end of the month in the monthly statistical release.