Foreign trade figures of Russia

Foreign Trade in Figures

The country is fairly open to foreign trade, which accounts for 52% of GDP (World Bank, 2021), despite strict laws and policies. Russia became a member of the WTO in 2012, is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which have established a free trade area, and is a member of the Eurasian Customs Union. Russia and Ukraine have abolished mutual trade preferences. The Eurasian Customs Union has signed an agreement with Vietnam and is negotiating free trade agreements with, for example, Iran, India, Egypt, Singapore and Serbia. Russia is the 13th exporter and 22nd importer of goods in the world (WTO, 2021). It mainly exports hydrocarbons (around 40% of total exports), solid fuels, precious metals, iron and steel, wheat and meslin, wood, and mainly imports machinery, pharmaceuticals, electronics, electrical products, vehicles and boats (Comtrade). After rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, the volume of Russia’s exports and imports of goods and services dropped sharply in 2022, in the context of the war in Ukraine and the subsequent economic sanctions imposed by Western countries. Exports decreased by 16% compared to 2021, while imports fell by 19.2% (IMF). According to IMF forecast, exports should continue decreasing at a slower pace in 2023 (-3%) before starting to recover in 2024 (+5.2%). Imports are expected to recover in 2023 (+5.6.%) and to continue growing in 2024 (+4.3%).
 
Russia's main customers are China (14% of exports), the Netherlands (8.6%), Germany (6%), Turkey (5.4%), Belarus (4.7%) and the United Kingdom (4.5%). Its main suppliers are China (24.8% of imports), Germany (9.3%), the United States (5.9%), Belarus (5.3%) and South Korea (4.4%). Since the conflict in Ukraine and the economic sanctions imposed by Western countries, the Kremlin has imposed an embargo on European and American agricultural products and has reconfigured its trade relations.
 
The country has recorded significant and regular trade surpluses since 1998, mainly due to the richness of its natural resources, notably hydrocarbons (crude oil and natural gas in particular). The trade surplus makes up easily for the deficit in services and income. In 2021, in the context of the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, trade surplus expanded. According to the latest WTO data, Russia exported USD 493.8 billion worth of goods in 2021, and imported USD 304 billion worth, posting a surplus of USD 190 billion (compared to USD 91.8 billion in 2020). The country exported 56.6 billion USD of services and imported 75.9 billion USD (WTO). According to preliminary data from the Russian central bank, the trade surplus (including services) increased to USD 236.8 billion during the period from January to September 2022 (compared to USD 107.9 billion during the same period in 2021), thanks to higher oil prices and a reduction in imports. Despite the efforts made since the imposition of sanctions, the substitution of domestic products for imports has hardly been successful, except in the food industry.