MOSCOW, May 10. /TASS/. Russia’s export volume did not suffer significantly from the sanctions imposed on the country, with the exception of oil and gas. Meanwhile, Q1 2023 figures for some positions are even stronger than in 2019, acting head of Russia’s Federal Customs Service Ruslan Davydov told TASS

"As for exports - oil and gas producers face certain challenges, but they will also adapt. Otherwise, our volumes did not suffer, and for some positions, they even increased compared to 2019," he said.

According to the Federal Customs Service, exports totaled $101.2 bln in the Q1 of 2019, while imports of goods in January-March 2019 decreased by 2.6% to $55.9 bln. Russian exports in January 2022 reached $45.8 bln, rising by 69.9% compared to January 2021.

In the Q1 of 2023, the Federal Customs Service transferred 1.288 trillion rubles ($16.59 bln) to the federal budget against around 2 trillion rubles ($25.77 bln) a year earlier. In March 2022, the service stopped releasing statistical information on foreign trade, and in March 2023 it partially resumed publishing customs data.

Western oil sanctions against Russia came into force on December 5, 2022: the European Union stopped accepting Russian oil transported by sea, and the G7 countries, Australia, and the EU introduced a price cap for sea transportation at $60 per barrel. Russian President Vladimir Putin at the end of 2022 banned supplies of Russian oil and oil products to foreigners if the contracts directly or indirectly include the use of the price cap mechanism introduced by the United States and other unfriendly countries. This measure came into effect for oil on February 1. Russia is currently voluntarily reducing oil production by 500,000 bpd compared to February 2023 levels.