Official says Russia's imports virtually return to pre-crisis level

ST. PETERSBURG, Jun 20 (PRIME) -- Russian imports have virtually recovered to the pre-crisis level, both in monetary and physical terms, Interim Director of the Federal Customs Service Ruslan Davydov told PRIME on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in an interview released ùò Tuesday.

"After a dive in March–April last year, we saw stable recovery of foreign trade starting in July. Most of all, in imports, we have virtually reached the pre-crisis volume both in monetary and physical terms," Davydov said.

He said that exports in physical terms decreased by 2%, without disclosing other figures. The exports structure did not change much. "The trend persists. Grain and fertilizers increased," the official said.

According to Davydov, China, India, Turkey and Azerbaijan replaced the E.U. in Russia's foreign trade. The trade volume with China may reach U.S. $200 billion in 2023. Germany remained among Russia's top-10 trade partners, while trade with the Netherlands declined significantly because of a fall of oil transshipments via Rotterdam.

Car imports from China almost tripled on the year in January–May, imports of special vehicles and trucks saw a "very significant growth," he said. Construction equipment imports across Zabaikalsk increased by 400%.

The customs service has no plans to restart publication of its statistics soon because of a "true economic war waged against us," he said.

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