Over the last two years, Russia’s portion of the European Union’s import structure has fallen dramatically, shrinking from 9.4 percent to 1.6 percent. This shift is highlighted by the coverage in Kommersant and is corroborated by Eurostat data. The trend signals a substantial realignment in EU sourcing and supply chains that touches several key commodities and sectors, from energy to metals to agricultural products. In practical terms, European buyers have scaled back purchases of Russian goods while seeking alternatives to maintain steady supply and price stability in a complicated geopolitical climate.
Despite the contraction, the European Union continues to import certain Russian commodities such as nickel, fertilizers, iron and steel, oil, and natural gas. However, the volumes are markedly reduced compared with 2021. For example, in the first quarter of 2024 the EU imported only about 12 percent of the Russian oil it had sourced three years earlier. Those “lost” volumes have been gradually absorbed by other suppliers, notably the United States and Turkey, reshaping regional energy and industrial ecosystems and prompting discussions about diversification and resilience across European energy markets.
During the same interval, European deliveries to Russia declined by roughly a factor of two and a half. By the end of Q1 of the current year, Russia’s share of European exports had fallen to about 1.4 percent, down from 3.2 percent at the end of March 2022. A sizeable portion of the remaining European shipments to Russia consists of medicines, underscoring how health and pharmaceutical trade flows contribute to the broader economic interaction between the two regions even as other categories retreat.
In a related development, March 2023 marked a record for European purchases of Russian seafood, with frozen cod and haddock figures reaching notable highs for the period. This spike reflects a combination of seasonal demand, supply chain adaptations, and price dynamics that continued to influence EU-Russia trade patterns even as overall volumes contracted.
Additionally, the ruble’s role in trade with EU members has shown notable movement. At certain points in the period under review, the ruble’s share of Russia’s exports to EU countries rose toward a historical peak, signaling attempts by market participants to adapt to shifting trade routes and currency preferences amid broader sanctions and economic realignments.