Russia Remains Third Largest Exporter in the EU

The value of Russian merchandise exports to EU countries in the first half of this year amounted to 67.4 billion euros, allowing Russia to take third place in the list of the largest exporting countries of the European Union, European statistical agency Eurostat reported.

The volume of Russian exports for the first half of 2021 increased by 35.6%, to 67.4 billion euros, compared with the data for the same period of the previous year – 49.7 billion euros. Also, the top three exporters to the EU countries in the first half of this year included China – 210.1 billion euros and the United States – 109.7 billion euros.

The volume of exports from EU countries to Russia also increased over the same period, but by only 13% – from 37.8 billion euros to 42.7 billion euros. The largest importers from the EU in the first half of the year were the United States – 191.1 billion euros, the United Kingdom – 135.5 billion euros, China – 112.6 billion euros, and Switzerland, with an indicator of 77 billion euros.

In the first six months of 2021, the total export volume of the EU countries amounted to 1.05 trillion. euros, which is almost 14% higher than in the same period last year – 921.9 billion euros. The volume of merchandise imports to the EU increased by almost 14% from 846.7 billion euros to 964.5 billion euros.

In 2014, the EU countries imposed sanctions on Russia due to the events in Ukraine and the reunification of Crimea with Russia. The sanctions have been extended and extended many times. Negotiations on a visa-free regime and a new basic cooperation agreement were also temporarily suspended, Russian media added.