Page 42 - RusRPTMar20

5.0​ External Sector & Trade 5.1​ External sector overview
Russia's exports of goods and services declined 2% last year for the first time in a decade​, according to preliminary statistics on the quantitative development of the sub-items of GDP.
According to statistics on trade in goods, the decline in exports was mainly due to a significant decline in exports of iron and steel products and cereals. These products account for about 10% of Russian exports.
Exports are still dominated by oil and gas, which again accounted for over 60% of exports last year. The total export volume of crude oil and petroleum products remained at the same level as a year earlier. Natural gas exports increased by almost 6%, driven by liquefied gas.
Exports of goods declined 6% to $425bn. In addition to volume developments, the value of exports was depressed by the decline in raw material prices.
Statistics on the development of sub-items of GDP show that Russia's imports of goods and services increased by 2% last year. Import growth was supported by the appreciation of the ruble, as the trade-weighted real exchange rate of the ruble strengthened by 2.5% last year.
In the trade of goods, imports of machinery, equipment and transport equipment remained almost unchanged, accounting for about half of imports.
Imports of chemical and metal products and textiles increased moderately (5-8%). Imports of goods were worth about $250bn, almost 3% higher than a year earlier.
Developments in the structure of the commodity trade followed last year's longer-term trends. The EU countries continued to be Russia's largest trading partner, both in exports (45%) and imports (36%), but their share declined and the share of Asian countries increased again slightly. Russia's main single trading partner was China, accounting for 13% of Russia's goods exports and 22% of its imports. China's share of Russian goods exports has more than doubled and even tripled in the 2000s.
42​ RUSSIA Country Report​ March 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com