Russia’s total trade reached about US$745 billion during 2025, also showcasing a significant, albeit shifting, trade surplus of about US$120 billion. In this section we cover all news concerning Russian trade developments, with Russian exporters increasingly reaching out into new markets on a global basis as it pivots away from the West. This is the definitive source on Russian trade. Get the latest data, analysis, and news on Russia’s import/export activities, trade agreements, and increasing commercial partnerships with the Global South.
The President of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso, has arrived in Russia on a state visit, his first overseas trip since winning the national elections last month. He met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials to discuss various investment projects including a massive oil pipeline and trade.
Belarus, which was accepted as a BRICS Partner nation in 2024, is making plans to join the BRICS New Development Bank. Doing so will open up alternative opportunities to raise capital for infrastructure and related developments as an alternative to capital markets in ‘unfriendly’ nations and to be able to do so without using the US dollar or Euro.
Russia’s FESCO Transportation Group have recorded a 38% increase in shipments between Chinese Ports and Vladivostok in Q1 2026 over the same period last year, with the bulk of these being Chinese exports to Russia.
A comprehensive overview of Russia’s trade and investment with the ASEAN nations between 2026 and 2031. We analyse all elements of mutual trade opportunities as many ASEAN countries face ongoing Middle East-driven oil supply disruptions and fertilizer supply chain and production cost uncertainties, alongside broader geopolitical realignments. Essential intelligence for anyone in the ASEAN trade space.
Indian and Russian investors are building a US$2 billion Urea production plant at Togliatti to secure the future supplies of fertilizers to India following supply chain weaknesses uncovered during the Iran conflict. India is the world’s biggest urea importer.
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The Russian Defense Minister has been visiting Pyongyang and meeting with North Korea’s top military officials, as well as the President, Kim Jong-un, with the two sides agreeing a strategic military alliance to 2031.
Russia’s FESCO transport group have been making maritime deliveries to the Middle East markets and avoiding the Strait of Hormuz by introducing direct shipping services between Russia’s southern ports and Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, on the Red Sea.
Russia’s Rosatom have received an operating licence for Bangladesh’s Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, which will commence operations this year and has been largely financed by Russian state loans.
Russia’s AGR auto group, together with its Chinese partner Defetoo, has relaunched production of automobile engines at the former Volkswagen site in Kaluga. The site has undergone significant Russian and Chinese investment and upgrading from its previous German ownership days. Volkswagen have cut back annual auto production in Germany while China’s auto industry is booming.
The Russian container market grew by 1.9% at the end of the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025, reaching 1.8 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEU). This is indicative of a small rebound over trade figures in the same period last year.
Russia’s VTB bank is rolling out a QR code payment system throughout Egypt to allow the bank’s clients to access up to US$4,600 per day in direct transactions from their Russian bank accounts while in the country. The QR code system is supported by national satellite telecommunications networks and is Western financial sanctions proof.
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