Türkiye's exports to Russia have fallen by almost 30%: reasons revealed

The threat of secondary US sanctions against Turkish banks that accept payments from Russia has severely affected Russo-Turkish trade.

Source: Russian online newspaper The Moscow Times, citing Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat)

Details: Exports of goods from Türkiye to Russia dropped by 28.3% year-on-year to US$4.16 billion in January-June 2024.

In particular, the figure for June is reported to have dropped by nearly 30% compared to the same month last year, falling to US$670 million from US$956 million.

Türkiye also reduced its imports of goods from Russia, with a 10.3% year-on-year decline to US$22.04 billion. However, Turkish imports from Russia increased in June, rising 1.2% year-on-year to US$2.95 billion.

The main share of Russian imports continues to account for energy, though even these have been affected by payment challenges.

In addition, the Turkish Energy Market Regulatory Board (EPDK) reported that Türkiye has sharply reduced gas imports from Russia.

In April, Turkish importers purchased only 413 million cubic metres of pipeline gas from Russian energy giant Gazprom, 3.6 times less than in the same month a year ago (1.523 billion cubic metres). Turkish companies abandoned Russian liquefied natural gas altogether, and in April, the country's ports did not accept a single tanker with raw materials from Russia.

Bank payment problems between Russia and Türkiye arose at the end of 2023. At that time, US President Joe Biden signed a decree allowing the US Treasury to impose secondary sanctions on third-country credit institutions for cooperation with sanctioned Russian companies and assistance to Russia's defence industry. In June of this year, the United States included all companies and individuals that had previously been sanctioned in the definition of the Russian defence industry.

Background: Using a loophole in sanctions, Türkiye disguises Russian oil as its own and exports it to the EU, bringing billions in revenue to Russia.

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