Russia's trade surplus rose sharply in 2022 - despite sanctions and embargoes due to the Ukraine war.
However, a continuation of this increase is not to be expected.
Moscow – Thanks to high oil prices, Russia achieved a trade surplus of 332.4 billion dollars (a good 311 billion euros) last year.
The export volume rose by 19.9 percent to $591.5 billion, while imports fell by 11.7 percent to $259.1 billion in the same period, the Russian customs authority said on Monday.
Compared to 2021, Russia's trade surplus has grown by 68 percent.
Russia: Oil price main reason for trade surplus
The main reason for the development was the oil price.
Despite its war against Ukraine, Russia was able to increase revenues from the sale of crude oil and oil products by 42 percent in 2022.
At the same time, sanctions imposed on Russia for its war of aggression against Ukraine restricted imports.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin: Russia's foreign trade will continue to boom in 2022 and will fill the Kremlin chief's war chest.
© Vladimir Smirnov/IMAGO
Russia: Imports will return to pre-war levels in 2023, price caps will take effect
Because of the sanctions, Moscow only partially publishes its statistics.
The publication of the figures by customs is apparently intended to show how well the country is dealing with it.
However, a continuation of the trend this year is not to be expected.
At the end of the year, the western industrial nations imposed a price cap on Russian oil and later also on oil products in order to restrict Moscow's income from financing the war.
The price brake has already made itself felt in the first two months.
In the meantime, imports have almost reached the pre-war level again – also due to gray imports of goods via third countries.
(dpa/rowa)
List of rubrics: © Vladimir Smirnov/IMAGO
