THE HAGUE, March 18. /TASS/. The Netherlands retained its position as the third largest trading partner of Russia, despite decline in trade between the two countries in 2020, Russia’s trade representative in the Netherlands Andrey Makarov told TASS.
According to him, the volume of mutual trade fell by 41.4% to $28.6 bln. "This was largely due to negative trends in the hydrocarbon market, the pandemic factor and, in general, decline in the global demand," the trade representative noted. "Deliveries of mineral fuel, oilб and distillation products in the structure of Russian exports began to occupy 75.6% against 84.3% in 2019. And in absolute terms, the decline is even more noticeable - more than half," he added.
At the same time, Makarov drew attention to the fact that the structure of trade is changing. "Despite the market factors in the global trade, it has more positions of Russian non-primary non-energy exports," he noted. "For example, according to the statistics of the Federal Customs Service of Russia, exports of turbo engines and gas turbines to the Netherlands has almost tripled to $36.8 mln. Exports of tugboats increased from zero to $24.6 mln. Deliveries of certain types of perfumery and cosmetic products more than doubled to $19 mln. There are positive examples in the chemistry industry and the agroindustrial complex," Makarov added.
Speaking about the prospects for 2021, Makarov expressed hope for an increase in trade, adding that there are certain grounds for this. "Since the beginning of the year, there has been an increase in oil prices and demand for energy resources, including due to a prolonged period of cold weather in Europe," he said. The prospects for growth of economies of the two countries also inspire optimism, which can also contribute to a partial recovery of the volume of trade between the two countries, Makarov added.