Image: Jyrki Lyytikkä / Yle

Finland's goods export industry grew by 18 percent in the first quarter of 2017 compared with the situation one year ago, new Customs figures show. Asia and Russia are the fastest-growing export markets.

Imports also grew comparatively by 15 percent from January to March, which represents a 624 million-euro deficit in the trade balance.

On a monthly scale, goods exports grew in value by some 20 percent, which is more than initially expected. The total value of Finnish exports exceeded 5 billion euros in March.

The year-on-year rise is due to upticks in both export volumes and prices. In March the overall volume grew by 14 percent while prices rose by 7.4 percent.