Russian exports and imports to and from Asia increased to 72% and 68%, respectively.
"Moscow stopped publishing detailed monthly export and import statistics shortly after it began its invasion of Ukraine two years ago and Western countries began imposing increasingly broad sanctions," the article says.
"On Feb. 12, the Russian customs service once again began concealing exports and imports by tonnage, but the two tables it released still show that its dependence on Asian countries has increased sharply in both trade directions in response to Western sanctions," Reuters writes.
According to the data, total Russian exports in 2023 fell by 28.3% to $425.1 billion, while trade with Europe declined by 68% to $84.9 billion. At the same time, exports to Asia grew by 5.6% to $306.6 billion. The Asian share of Russian exports increased to 72% from 49% in 2022.
According to the article, exports of machinery, equipment, vehicles, and other related products jumped 24% to $146 billion.
Exports of what the customs service called "mineral products," including energy products such as oil, fell 33.6% to $260.1 billion. Meanwhile, exports of metals and metal products declined by 15% to $60 billion.
Earlier, it was reported that Russia was beginning to export agricultural products from the occupied territories of Ukraine to China.
On Feb. 5, 2024, it became known that Russia was also selling Yandex at half price, with the buyer paying in yuan.