Data drawn from RIA Novosti, citing the EU’s national statistical offices, show that in August France boosted its imports of Russian goods by about 25 percent to 1.1 billion euros on a monthly basis. This marked the first rise since February, when imports reached 1.8 billion euros, after which France trimmed spending on Russian goods for five consecutive months. Yet the August level remains roughly 40 percent below February’s peak.
The leading Russian goods importers in August were:
1. Germany – 2.7 billion euros;
2. Italy – 2.0 billion euros;
3. Netherlands – 1.5 billion euros.
Portugal exhibited the strongest activity, lifting imports more than ninefold to 79 million euros, while Latvia (+44%), Austria (+27%), Spain (+27%), Greece (+15%) and Slovakia (+6%) also posted gains. Exports to Slovenia fell by 60% and to Ireland by 64%, with the steepest declines seen in Sweden (40%), Ireland (39%), and Spain (39%).
Russia continued to source from European suppliers, with Cyprus emerging as the growth leader in August, as exports to Russia surged by 6.7 times. Hungary, Belgium, Germany, and Lithuania followed, with Lithuania reaching 292 million euros—the highest level since February. Nevertheless, Germany and Italy remained Russia’s top suppliers, supplying 1.15 billion euros and 462 million euros respectively. Poland also ranked in the top three with 342 million euros.
Data before special processing
According to the Federal Customs Service of Russia, exports to France in January 2022 stood at 1.08 billion dollars, and the year totals from January 2021 to January 2022 reached 11.1 billion dollars, with a yearly trade turnover of 24 billion dollars. Exports to Germany in January were 5.13 billion dollars, with annual totals of 32.8 billion and a total annual trade turnover of 61.7 billion dollars. Exports to Italy in January were 2.22 billion dollars, with annual totals of 21.5 billion and a total trade turnover of 34.3 billion dollars. In January 2022, the Netherlands bought Russian goods for 4.8 billion dollars, with 47.9 billion dollars in total for the year and a yearly trade turnover of 52.4 billion dollars.
Market diversification
Following the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, Western nations imposed sanctions that restricted the export of many consumer and industrial goods, including items with potential military use. The restrictions covered petroleum, timber, cement, precious metals, seafood, printing ink, various chemicals, flowers, semiconductors, and other commodities, and the EU also restricted the import of Russian mineral fertilizers.
These trade restrictions pushed Russia to broaden its activity beyond Europe. A statement from the Deputy Prime Minister’s press service indicated that in the first nine months of 2022, trade with CIS countries grew by 6.8 percent, with exports up 1.2 percent to 45.9 billion dollars and imports up 18.1 percent to 26.7 billion dollars. The share of goods trade with CIS nations in Russia’s total trade turnover stood at about 11.5 percent.
There was also noticeable momentum on the Asian side. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin noted that trade with China approached 150 billion dollars in the first ten months of the year, with double-digit growth and a near one-third rise compared to the previous year. He pointed out that this volume already surpasses figures for the entire prior year. In September, President Vladimir Putin remarked that the goal of reaching 200 billion dollars in trade with China was within reach, with 180 to 190 billion dollars expected for the year.
Given the reliance on oil and gas revenues, Western sanctions threatened budget replenishment. As a result, energy buyers from India, China, and Turkey increased their purchases of energy resources from Russia. Energy exports to China grew by roughly 60 percent year over year, with oil, gas, and coal comprising nearly 70 percent of the export mix. Trade with India also accelerated—the first half of 2022 saw almost triple the 2021 level, driven by oil exports and a 3.5-fold increase in overall trade activity.
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[citation: RIA Novosti, EU statistics offices, 2022–2023 data; ongoing trade analysis reports]