MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th November, 2021) The trade turnover between the Russian capital and the BRICS member states in the first eight months of 2021 increased by nearly 30% year-on-year, amounting to more than $42 billion, Vladimir Efimov, Moscow deputy mayor for economic policy, said on Thursday.
BRICS is an economic bloc founded in 2006 and involves Russia, China, Brazil, India, and South Africa.
"In January-August of this year, Moscow's trade turnover with the BRICS countries reached 42.1 billion, which is 27.9% more than in the same period last year, when the trade turnover stood at $32.92 billion, and 12.5% higher than in the eight months of 2019, when the trade turnover amounted to $37.43 billion. Moscow's trade with the countries of the bloc is quite balanced, with exports to the BRICS countries accounting for some $20 billion, imports accounting for about $22 billion," Efimov said.
China leads with 92.5%, or $38.93 billion, in terms of bilateral trade with Russia over the period in question. India ranks second on the list with 6%, or $2.52 billion, followed by Brazil with 1.1% or $0.46 billion, and South Africa with 0.5%, or $0.2 billion, according to the deputy mayor's office.
The "greatest interest" in the structure of trade between Moscow and BRICS lies within the Russian capital's non-resource non-energy exports to the bloc's member states, amounting to $1.5 billion this year compared to $1.23 billion in 2019, according to Alexander Prokhorov, the head of investment in the Moscow city government. The rate of these exports has grown by nearly a third from 2018-2020 from $2.33 billion up to $2.98 billion.
According to the Mosprom Export Support Center, an arm of Prokhorov's department, Moscow's 2021 non-resource non-energy exports to China amounted to $1.11 billion, to India to $340.13 million, to Brazil to $20.45 million, and $27.38 million to South Africa. Moscow exports to BRICS countries include mainly industrial goods, including mechanical equipment, plastic products, electrical devices, communication equipment, among others, it added.
