Russian exports to Africa soared by 42.07%

Russia’s Federal Customs Service (FCS) has reported a 4.82% decrease in the country’s trade surplus for January 2025, with the positive balance falling to $7.9 billion. Despite this decline, both exports and imports posted steady growth, reflecting increased activity in foreign trade.

According to the data, Russian exports rose to $29.3 billion, while imports reached $21.4 billion. As a result, the total trade turnover grew by 4.54%, amounting to $50.7 billion.

The regional breakdown of trade shows mixed dynamics. Trade with Europe experienced a slowdown, with exports to the region dropping by 2.62% and imports falling more sharply by 11.05%. In contrast, trade with Asia showed positive momentum. Exports to Asian countries increased by 3%, while imports surged by 13.14%, signaling the region’s growing importance in Russia’s trade structure.

Trade with Africa demonstrated the strongest growth among all regions. Russian exports to the continent soared by 42.07%, while imports rose by 17.97%, indicating a deepening trade relationship with African markets.

In terms of product categories, mineral products remained Russia’s main export commodity, with a total value of $18 billion in January. Agricultural exports also performed well, increasing by 7.4% to reach $3.3 billion.

Imports were led by machinery, equipment, and transport vehicles, which accounted for $10.9 billion of the total import volume. Other significant import categories included goods from the chemical industry and agricultural products.