Russia-EU trade dips to near 25-year low – data

Trade turnover between Russia and the European Union has continued to fall amid Western sanctions against Moscow, tumbling to nearly a quarter-century low as of the end of April, RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday, citing Eurostat data.

The cited statistics show that mutual trade has plunged to its lowest level since January 2000, to €5.6 billion. The figure also marked a month-on-month decrease of 6%.

Exports of Russian goods to the EU in April dropped by 17% from the previous month, to €2.7 billion, plummeting to their lowest level since June 1999.

The report said that Russia mainly sold natural gas to the EU, although supplies decreased by 5% in April, to €1.15 billion. Exports were also dominated by iron and steel, as well as petroleum products.

At the same time, supplies of EU goods to Russia, dominated by pharmaceuticals and equipment, were 6% higher in April than the previous month, rising to €2.9 billion.

Official statistics show that in 2020, the EU was Russia’s leading trade partner, accounting for 37.3% of the country’s total trade in goods. Over 36% of Russia’s imports came from the EU and 37.9% of its exports went to the 27-nation bloc.

Bilateral trade, however, started to decline dramatically as a result of the sanctions imposed on Moscow by Western countries over the Ukraine conflict.

Since February 2022, the EU has implemented multiple rounds of sanctions against Russia, including asset freezes, restrictions on the country’s financial and energy sector, trade embargoes, as well as measures targeting individuals and state companies.