BOFIT Weekly Review 2015/51
Finnish-Russian trade scraping bottom
The value of Finnish goods exported to Russia in the first nine months of this year was down by a third from the same period in 2014. Despite slightly better performance in the summer months, the contraction in exports accelerated again in September. Exports have fallen rather steadily in all important product groups on lower Russian demand and the weak ruble. The contraction in food exports has slowed in recent months, largely because the base effect of the import bans imposed in August 2014 has begun to fade. After over two years of contraction, the total value of goods exports is already below the lows hit after the 2008-09 international financial crisis.
The weakness in services exports to Russia also appears to have persisted throughout the autumn. The number of Russian travellers staying in Finnish hotels and inns was down by nearly half from a year earlier in January-September and the number of crossings at Finland’s eastern border fell by 20 % in January-November.
The value of goods imported to Finland from Russia in the first nine months of this year declined by a third from a year earlier. The value of imports closely tracks trends in oil prices as the lion’s share of imports consists of crude oil and petroleum products. The volumes of crude oil and petroleum products have also contracted this year.
Finland’s goods trade with Russia
Source: National Board of Customs