Page 39 - RusRPTDec18

Trade: External balance on goods and services (USD mn)
148,023 123,679 134,497 111,638 103,425 130,314 48,353
Trade: External balance on goods and services (% of GDP)
6.66 5.39 6.41 8.04 5.17 5.35 /
Trade: Goods exports (BoP) (USD mn)
527,434 523,275 497,763 341,467 285,772 353,547 101,881
Trade: Goods imports (BoP)
335,771 341,337 308,026 193,952 191,671 237,993 57,000
Trade: Current account BPM6 (USD mn)
71,282 34,801 58,432 68,375 25,664 35,350 18,321
Trade: Current account to GDP (%)
3.20 1.40 2.70 4.90 1.90 2.20 /
source: CEIC, World Bank, CBR
5.2.1 Import/export dynamics
Trade turnover between Russia and Turkey will reach $30bn in 2018, according to Turkish Ambassador to Russia Huseyin Dirioz during a speech in Moscow on November 6. In 2017, the trade turnover between Russia and Turkey was $23.36bn, up 37% compared to 2016. Exports were up 33% and stood at $18.2bn in 2016, while imports were up 57.5% and reached $3.4bn. Russia imposed sanctions on Turkey after Ankara shot down a Russian bomber over Syria in November 2016, but relations have rapidly improved in the last two years. The structure of goods exports to Turkey has hardly changed, the ambassador said as cited by TASS.. Agricultural products and raw materials (31.24%) occupied the highest share in the imports, more than the importing of cars, equipment and transport means (29.8%). According to the Federal Customs Service, in January - August 2018 the trade turnover was $17.3bn. About 5.5mn Russians will spend their holidays in Turkey in 2018, Russia’s Association of Tour Operators forecasted.
Trade turnover between Russia and Argentina will reach $1bn this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after talks with his Argentine counterpart Mauricio Macri. Putin noted that in 2017 bilateral trade turnover grew to $890mn, while increasing by another 26% in the first nine months of 2018. "At the end of this year, we will reach $1bn," he said.
Russia's deliveries of coal to China will grow by 8.4% this year compared to 2017, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said at a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. "At the end of 2018, we expect coal deliveries to stand at 27.2mn tonnes, which is 8.4% more than last year," the press service of the Russian Energy Ministry quoted Novak as saying.
Russia's Ministry of Agriculture has maintained its grain exports forecast for 2018/2019 season at 38mn-39mn tonnes, Reuters reported on November 7. Previously officials said the forecast is cut to 35mn tonnes. Russia collected an all time record-high harvest of 134mn tonnes in 2017, which helped to keep food inflation low and brought $20bn in grain export revenues. Previous estimates showed that Russia was on track to bring in yet another solid grain harvest of about 117mn tonnes. However, the harvest in Russia is likely to be lower than previously expected due to adverse weather conditions, with 114mn
39 RUSSIA Country Report December 2018 www.intellinews.com