TALLINN - Estonia produced a strong batch of industrial figures for June, pointing to a growth in output. This, along with a bullish company security index, shows that the country's favorable economic climate will continue, analysts said.
"The June figures are pleasing 's 2.4 percent growth [month-on-month] is the fastest this year," Sampo Bank analyst Anne Karik-Uustalu told the Baltic News Service. "There was growth in nearly all the branches of the economy, with a fall only in the textile industry."
Year-on-year industrial output grew 11.1 percent in June against June 2004, the Statistical Office reported.
Economy Ministry analysts Andrus Treiberg and Mario Lambing said in their comment that the robust industrial growth is largely thanks to increasing exports.
Karik-Uustalu said that machine manufacturing and installation, where there had been a strong 18-percent growth against last year yielded the biggest proportion of the growth. "Also wood and wood products made a strong contribution, with the growth going up 17 percent."
What's more, company leaders have forecast strong growth in the output already in May. "In the next few months there should be no significant fall in the growth rates, considering the strengthening market position of Estonian companies," Karik-Uustalu said.
The favorable situation also continues in industries connected with construction, with production of building materials soaring 18-percent year-on-year. In furniture the output volume increased by 16 percent and in engineering by 10 percent.
"Although demand for output of these branches has increased on the local market, increasing exports have also played a considerable role in the growth of output volumes," Economy Ministry analysts said.
