EU-Russia trade surges by a third in Jan-Sep 2010

The trade between the 27 European Union nations (EU27) and Russia shot up by 33 per cent during the first nine months of 2010, according to a press release yesterday by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office.

Exports rose by 27 per cent to €61 billion for Jan-Sep 2010 from €48 billion for the same period last year, while imports grew by 36 per cent to €113 billion compared to €83 billion for the first nine months in 2009.

The trade deficit for the three quarters increased to €52 billion from €35 billion, up 49 per cent.

Russia was the third-largest trading partner for the EU27, after the US and China, accounting for about 6 per cent of EU27 exports and 10 per cent of imports.

The trade between EU27 and Russia was continuously on the rise since 2000 to 2008, which dropped in 2009, following the global economic downturn.

Germany was by far the largest exporter of goods to Russia in the first nine months of 2010, with about €18.8 billion or nearly one-third of the total exports. Italy was second with €5.6 billion or 9 per cent, followed by France, and the Netherlands with 7 per cent share each.