Page 57 - RusRPTSept21

5.0 External Sector & Trade 5.1 External sector overview
In the first half of 2021, Russia's foreign trade turnover amounted, according to the Bank of Russia, to $349.9bn (129.8% to the first half of 2020), including exports - $208.7bn (130.6% ), imports - $141.2bn (128.6%). The trade balance remained positive, $67.5bn (in the first half of 2020 - positive, $50.0bn).
The value of Russian exports of goods increased by as much as 64% year-on-year in April-June boosting Russian trade earnings thanks to the boom in commodity prices, reports Bank of Finland Institute for Economies in Transition (BOFIT) in its weekly bulletin.
“Although growth figures are underpinned by last year's weak benchmark in the bottom of the interest rate crisis, the value of exports in June was already passed the peak figures for 2013–2014. The rapid growth largely reflects the rapid rise in world oil and other commodity market prices in recent months, BOFIT said.
In April-June, the volume of crude oil exports continued to decline slightly year-on-year, and exports of petroleum products did not increase either. In contrast, export volumes of most other key products, such as natural gas, coal, fertilizers, raw wood and many metals, increased sharply.
“After a rapid recovery in the early part of the year, growth in merchandise imports has slowed in recent months, although year-on-year growth was 42% in April-June due to the weak base of the interest rate crisis,” BOFIT reports. “The value of imports is also close to its peak readings from seven years ago. Imports have been boosted in particular by growing demand for machinery, equipment and means of transport. They account for about half of goods imports.”
In January-June, Russia's merchandise exports were worth $210bn. The EU accounted for 37% of exports, China for 15% and the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union for 9%. The value of Russian goods imports was $140bn. The EU accounted for 33% of imports, China for 23% and the Eurasian Economic
57 RUSSIA Country Report September 2021 www.intellinews.com