The African continent has significantly boosted imports from Russia, outperforming Moscow’s trading partners from North and South America, according to local macroeconomic data cited by Russian business daily RBK.
In 2023, the share of African imports in Russia’s overall export volumes saw a 100% year-on-year increase from 2.5% to nearly 5%, the media outlet reported, citing the Federal Customs Service (FCS).
Meanwhile, the portion for the ‘America’ macroregion, which includes the Caribbean, Central America, South America and North America, reportedly dropped to 2.9% in 2023 compared to 3.5% recorded in the previous year. In monetary terms, Russian exports to African nations increased by 43% to $21.2 billion, while sales to the countries of North and South America declined by 40% to $12.2 billion.
In comparison to the “pre-sanctions” year of 2021, Africa’s share in Russian exports increased from 3% to 5%, while America’s portion decreased from 6% to 3%, according to the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting (CAMAC), as cited by RBK.
In 2023, exports of Russian petroleum products to Africa almost doubled, with wheat exports also growing significantly, the outlet said.
African countries’ share in Russian trade turnover (4.2%) are in line with the continent’s contribution to the world economy and global trade, which is hovering around 3%, according to Alexander Firanchuk, a senior research associate at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA).
Russian exports to the US specifically have seen a nearly six-fold decline since spring 2022, when the first sanctions related to the Ukraine conflict were imposed, Firanchuk said, adding that the major drop in trade relations has led to reduced importance for the whole region. Some 70% of the exports to the US for 2024 so far have come from fertilizers and nuclear fuel – some of the only Russian exports to the US not impacted by sanctions or tariffs.
According to Firanchuk, prior to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the US accounted for nearly half of Russian exports to North and South America.