Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Markets and Companies

"I have received an official notice which said that some insurance companies have cancelled credit limits to Baltic companies. Since suppliers no longer have such limits, they have started to demand full prepayment from us. It was a major surprise for us," Vahur Roosaar, CEO of textile maker Wendre, told Aripaev.

"This is a regional problem of French and Austrian raw material suppliers," explained Roosaar. He added that, although the company managed to settle the issue, such negative news has an effect on its production.

Andres Leosk, board member of Wenform, the producer of mattresses, said that the company had had similar suppliers in Austria and UK, among others.

Leosk said that this was because Western financing companies were very closely monitoring Estonia's credit rating.

Kuldar Leis, the Chairman of Premia Tallinna Külmhoone, said that it was not the problem of Estonia but all the Baltic states: "Unfortunately, the Baltic states are regarded abroad as one whole region. When Latvia has problems, Estonia cannot distance itself from it. Therefore, some large suppliers of raw materials have adopted the policy of not to ship raw materials without insurance or prepayment".

Mariko Rukholm, the Head of Development of Kindlustusmaakler AS, said that Marsh was aware of such problems.

"It is understandable that Estonian companies are surprised, especially if they have duly fulfilled their earlier obligations," Rukholm added.