Russia's trade with EU hits record low as economy falters
Trade turnover between Russia and the European Union amounted to CAD 7.4 billion in June, the lowest since September 1999, as reported by "Kommersant" in August. In October, Eurostat reported that since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the value of imports from Russia to EU countries fell by as much as 87 percent.
- Russia's economy under Vladimir Putin is in lousy shape and deteriorating further. The Chairwoman of the Central Bank and other government representatives openly discuss this, - said Vladimir Milov, a Russian economist sympathetic to the democratic opposition and former deputy energy minister, in July.
Last year, the head of Russia's Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, raised the interest rate to 16 percent, hoping that a strict monetary policy would curb inflation. However, he reminded, it proved ineffective because inflation continues to rise.
Interest rates up, trade with the EU down
In response to this situation, in July 2024, the Bank of Russia decided to raise the main interest rate to 18 percent, and by the end of October - to 21 percent. - The reality is that this economy is collapsing. Maybe not as quickly as the countries imposing sanctions would like, but it is happening, said Milov in July.
As reported by the Russian "Kommersant" in August, in June, trade turnover between Russia and the European Union amounted to CAD 7.4 billion. This is the lowest figure since September 1999, when trade turnover was CAD 7 billion.
According to the newspaper, in June, deliveries of Russian goods to the European Union decreased by 14 percent compared to May, amounting to CAD 3.8 billion. At that time, the largest part of Russian exports to the European Union was gas (CAD 1.7 billion), oil and petroleum products (CAD 505 million), and iron and steel (CAD 248 million).
Meanwhile, deliveries of European products to Russia in June decreased by 5 percent month-to-month to CAD 3.6 billion. Key categories of European exports to the Russian Federation included pharmaceutical products (CAD 960 million), equipment (CAD 397 million), and optical instruments (CAD 308 million).
This is how imports from Russia have fallen since the beginning of the invasion
At the beginning of October, Eurostat published data on the EU's trade with Russia in the second quarter of 2024. These are the most recent quarterly data available - data for the third quarter will be available at the end of November. Eurostat's data shows that from April to June of this year, imports from Russia to the EU fell by 16 percent compared to the second quarter of 2023, and EU countries' exports to Russia fell by 9.5 percent.
Between the first quarter of 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, and the end of the second quarter of 2024, imports from Russia to EU countries fell by a total of 87 percent - Eurostat calculates.
