From January through June, Lithuania cut the flow of goods and services to Russia by 46.6 percent compared to the same period in 2023. The total export value reached 630.9 million euros, a figure reported by TASS citing Lithuania’s statistical service. This sharp reduction marks a significant shift in Lithuania’s trade links and reflects broader European responses to geopolitical tensions affecting energy and goods flows.
As a consequence, Russia fell to the 10th spot among Lithuania’s export partners. By comparison, Russia stood as the fourth-largest partner at the close of 2022, and it held the top position in 2021, illustrating a dramatic realignment in Lithuania’s external economic relationships over the past few years. Analysts point to sanctions, market diversification, and shifting demand patterns as driving forces behind this change.
In the first half of 2024, Latvia emerged as Lithuania’s leading export partner, accounting for 10.8 percent of Lithuania’s total export volume. Poland followed with a share of 9.9 percent, and Germany remained in the third position with 8.2 percent. This triad highlights a broader regional rebalancing, where Baltic and Central European economies increasingly anchor Lithuania’s external trade flows, influenced by proximity, market size, and evolving supply chains.
Earlier reports noted a pronounced decline in trade activity between Russia and Germany. In June, Germany reduced its purchases of Russian goods by nearly 1.5 times compared with the previous year, down to about 0.2 billion euros. Domestic shipments from Germany decreased by 22.2 percent year over year, totaling roughly 0.6 billion euros, underscoring the impact of policy measures and market reorientation on bilateral commerce.
Conversely, recent data indicate that CIS trade dynamics show a different trajectory, with Russia increasing its overall trade activity with some partners to historic highs. This juxtaposition underscores the uneven pattern of global trade as sanction regimes, political alignments, and supply chain realignments continue to reshape the map of interstate commerce across Europe and adjacent regions. Observers emphasize that the Lithuanian case illustrates how external shocks can quickly reweight the importance of neighboring markets and how small economies adapt to rapidly changing conditions with selective diversification and resilient logistics. Attribution for these figures comes from official statistical releases and corroborating reports from regional agencies.