Money Talks: Russian Imports for January-June 2015 Drop by 39.5%

Russian imports between January and June 2015 have dropped 39.5 percent in comparison with the same period in 2014, the Russian Federal Customs Service said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Imports for the January-June 2015 period stood at $87.7 billion.

Russian exports also dropped by 28.8 percent and currently stand at $183 billion year-on-year.

According to the Federal Customs Service’s figures, Russia’s foreign trade turnover stands at $270.7 billion for January-June of this year, dropping by 32.6 percent for the same period in 2014.

In particular, US-Russia trade turnover shrank 29.4 percent in the first quarter of 2015 against the same period in 2014, while US exports to Russia fell 31.8 percent over the same time, according to the US Census Bureau data.

Meanwhile, trade between the European Union and Russia sank 12.6 percent in 2014 year-on-year, and EU exports to Russia dropped 13.5 percent over the same period, according to the European Commission.

The trade turnover indices, to a great extent, reflect the current state of Russia-West relations.

In 2014, the European Union, the United States and their allies imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia citing its alleged involvement in the Ukrainian crisis. Moscow has repeatedly denied the claims, and, in August 2014, responded by imposing a year-long ban on certain food imports from countries that imposed the economic restrictions.

In late June, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree extending the countermeasures in retaliation to a similar move of the West.