MOSCOW, July 9 (Itar-Tass) - Russia’s foreign trade surplus decreased by 14.8 percent in the first five months of the year, as compared to the same period of 2012, and stood at 85.6 billion U.S. dollars, the Federal Customs Service said in a report made public on Tuesday.
In January-May 2013, the country’s trade with the former Soviet republics decreased by 2.9 billion U.S. dollars to 11.5 billion U.S. dollars, while the trade with the rest of the world dropped by 12 billion U.S. dollars to stand at 74.1 billion U.S. dollars, the document underlined.
In the period under review, Russia’s foreign trade amounted to 332.8 billion U.S. dollars, which was 2.4 percent less compared with January-May 2012. The country’s trade with the member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was estimated at 43.3 billion U.S. dollars, while Russia’s trade with non-CIS countries reached 289.5 billion U.S. dollars.
In January-May 2013, Russia’s export decreased by 5.2 percent, as compared to the same period of the preceding year, and stood at 209.2 billion U.S. dollars. In the total amount of Russia’s export, 86.9 percent accounted for non-CIS countries, while 13.1 percent - for the former Soviet republics.
In the designated period, Russia’s import went up by 2.8 percent to reach 123.6 billion U.S. dollars, the document underlined, adding that 87.1 percent of the country’s import accounted for non-CIS countries and 12.9 percent - for the CIS states.