Russia’s imports from non-CIS countries down 39%
Non-CIS countries’ exports to Russia plunged by 39 percent to $104 billion in the first eight months of this year, compared to the same period in 2014, statistics from the Federal Customs Service showed.
Last month, the value of goods imported from those countries averaged $14 billion, which is 1.7 percent less than in July.
READ MORE: Import of sanctioned products to Russia drops by half
The figures for the August show that all the four main import sectors which are food and food processing materials, chemicals, textile and footwear, engineering products, dropped compared to the same month in 2014.
Food imports from outside the former Soviet Union were down 3 percent at $1.8 billion. Russia imported fruit and nuts worth $221 million.
Chemicals were down almost 10 percent in the first 8 months of the year, at $2.5 billion. Russia's pharmaceutical imports in August 2015 stood at $623 million.
READ MORE: Polish farmers ride tractors to Warsaw, demand aid after Russian trade ban (VIDEO)
Imports of textile and footwear stood at $1 billion last month, with a slight value growth.
The data also showed that Russia imported engineering products worth $6.3 billion over the period. In August the value of machinery and equipment imports dropped 36.7 percent compared to the same month in 2014.
READ MORE: Russia begins mass destruction of illegally imported food
Russian imports have fallen since the country imposed a food embargo last August as a reciprocal response to Western sanctions. The ban first applied to meat, poultry and fish, cheese, milk, fruit and vegetables from the United States, the EU, Australia, Canada, Norway, Japan and a number of other countries. Moscow recently extended the list of countries and started destroying illegal food imports.
