Trade deficit with Russia soars in March
The high rates of natural gas sent the cost of Russian imports to Greece soaring in March. At the same time exports to Russia collapsed due to the sanctions the European Union has imposed on Moscow, and the problems concerning transport after the start of the war in Ukraine.
The provisional data released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) on Tuesday showed the value of Russian imports to Greece in March amounted to 532.8 million euros, jumping 69.1% from the same month last year.
Almost half of that – €245.59 million – concerned imports of natural gas while €222.82 million was lubricants.
In the first quarter of the year Russian imports in Greece added up to €1.69 billion, which constitutes an increase of 131.4% from €732 million in January-March 2021.
The value of Greek exports to Russia amounted to just €5.4 million, shrinking 66.1% from March 2021. The main exports to Russia were plastics, paints and yachts. The products that had dominated Greek exports to Russia in 2021 – precious metals, fur and unprocessed tobacco – are no longer shipped to Russia.
