Increase in Russia's foreign trade surplus

Russian Federal Customs Service (FTS) announced foreign trade data for the January-August period.

Accordingly, in the said period, the country's foreign trade volume increased by 13.75 percent compared to the same period last year, reaching 505.5 billion dollars.

The country's exports increased by 37.8 billion dollars to 304.2 billion dollars, and its imports increased by 23.3 billion dollars to 201.3 billion dollars.

Thus, Russia's foreign trade surplus increased by 16.4 percent to 102.9 billion dollars, from 88.4 billion dollars in the same period last year.

According to the data, Russia's main export item was mines and mineral products with 170.6 billion dollars, while the main import item was machinery, equipment and transportation vehicles with 97.7 billion dollars.

Volume increased with Asian countries

While Russia's foreign trade volume with Asian countries increased to 381.8 billion dollars, the share of these countries in total foreign trade reached 75.5 percent.

While the share of European countries in Russia's foreign trade was recorded as 17.5 percent, the trade volume with these countries was 88.4 billion dollars.

While the share of North and South American countries in total foreign trade was 3.6 percent, the trade volume with these countries was calculated as 18 billion dollars.

While the share of African countries in Russia's foreign trade was 3.4 percent, the trade volume with the continent reached 17.2 billion dollars.

The share of Asian countries in Russia's foreign trade continues to trend upward following the sanctions imposed by Western countries.