Russian exports to non-CIS countries decline

The volume of exports from Russia to non-CIS countries reached $39.9bn inthe first six months of 2002. It decreased by 7.4% compared to that in thecorresponding period of last year, the State Customs Committee reported.The percentage of fuel in the total volume of exports reached 56.1%. TheState Customs Committee pointed out that the prevalence of favorablefactors in the second quarter, such as a rise in the world prices of fueland raw materials and a growth in the demand for oil and some kinds of rawmaterials, had facilitated an increase in the physical volume of oilsupplies by 6.8%. The corresponding figures for natural gas, fuel oil andcoal were 3.2%, 16.3% and 8.5% respectively. The export of fuel for jetsfell by 32.8% due to a decline in the air transportation. The share of metals and metal products in the total volume of exports tonon-CIS countries remained at 15.6% (in terms of the cost). The percentageof machines and equipment was 8% compared to 7.1% in January-June 2001. Thecorresponding figures for chemical products and wood products were 6.7% and5.4% respectively. The supplies of synthetic caoutchouc grew by 19.2% (interms of the cost). The export of methanol fell by 21.3%, and the export ofmineral fertilizers decreased by 5% (in terms of physical volume). .