Russia’s Foreign Trade in 2019: Preliminary Results

Alexander Yu. Knobel – Head of Foreign Trade Department of the Gaidar Institute; Director of Center for Foreign Trade Department of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Candidate of Economic Sciences (Moscow, Russia). Е-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Alexander S. Firanchuk – Senior Researcher of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (Moscow, Russia). Е-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Over the course of the first ten months of 2019, Russia’s exports of fuel and energy resources in money terms dropped relative to the same period of the previous year by 8.1%, to $ 217.4bn (or 77% of the pre-crisis level registered in 2013). The value of other exports declined to $ 128.0bn (-1.9%), thus returning to its pre-crisis level (105%). The drop in the value of Russia’s exports of fuel and energy resources, metals, chemical products, and timber was caused by a considerable deterioration in pricing which took place against the background of relatively stable export volumes. The export of high-tech products (the commodity groups Machines and Equipment and Other Commodities’) remained unchanged.

Over the course of the first ten months of 2019, the value of imports amounted to $ 198.8bn, thus remaining at the level of the corresponding period of the previous year (100.8%). One of the factors behind the ruble’s return to about 77% of the pre-crisis level registered in 2013 was the significant strengthening of the ruble.

Key words: foreign trade, export, import, rate of exchange.