BRUSSELS, March 3. /TASS/. Russian exports to the EU countries for the period from the beginning of March to the end of December 2022 decreased by 53% in value terms - from €21.8 billion in March to €10.3 billion in December, the European statistical agency Eurostat reported on Friday.
"The value of imports from Russia fell by 53%, from €21.8 billion in March 2022 to €10.3 billion in December 2022," the agency says.
"The EU’s trade deficit with Russia peaked at €18.2 billion in March 2022," the agency adds. Back then, the EU blocked a significant part of its exports to Russia, and sanctions on the purchase of coal, oil and steel in Russia had not yet entered into force and gas payments were still made in euros. By December 2022, the EU’s trade deficit decreased to decreasing to €6.0 billion.
Consequently, Russia’s share in extra-EU imports for six key products decreased with strong declines visible for coal, natural gas, fertilizers, petroleum oil and iron and steel, the agency notes.
"In particular, the highest drops have been recorded for coal (from 45% in 2021 to 22% in 2022), natural gas (from 36% to 21%), fertilizers (from 29% to 22%), petroleum oil (from 28% to 21%) and iron and steel (from 16% to 10%)," the agency says.