The balance of trade between the European Union and Russia has shifted significantly following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and subsequent European sanctions. Now, Europe enjoys a €200 million surplus in trade with Russia.
According to seasonally adjusted values from Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, both exports and imports have dropped well below the levels prior to the invasion. This is largely a result of strict EU trade embargos, especially on Russian natural resources such as hydrocarbons and minerals.
Russia's share in the EU's extra-EU exports fell from 4% in February 2022 to 1.8% in March 2023. In the same period, the share of extra-EU imports from Russia fell from 9.5% to 1.9%.
Credit: Eurostat
The EU's trade deficit with Russia, which peaked at €18.2 billion in March 2022, more than halved in December 2022 to €6 billion. Three months later, this has now turned into a small surplus of €200 million.
The value of imports from Russia dropped from €22 billion in March 2022 to €3.8 billion in 2023, amounting to a reduction of over 80%. The value of exports to Russia increased slightly, from €3.6 billion to €4 billion. Nonetheless, at the start of the war, exports reached as high as €8 billion.
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The value of European trade with Russia is strongly influenced by the demand for energy products. Soaring costs in 2021 and 2022 led to a significant trade deficit with Russia. However, import restrictions and falling prices have since helped reduce this deficit, which stood at €5.6 billion in the first quarter of this year.
The deficit in EU-Russia trade for energy has been significantly slashed since last year. The deficit now amounts to €11.3 billion in Russia's favour, against €43.9 billion at the start of Russia's invasion.
