Last year, Germany imported 94.6 percent fewer goods from the Russian Federation than in 2021, the year before the war in Ukraine began.

In 2024, goods worth 1.8 billion euros were imported from Russia, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced on Wednesday. Before the EU's 17 sanctions packages against Russia, imports from there amounted to 33.1 billion euros in 2021. Exports to Russia also fell significantly: At -71.6 percent, however, the decline was less severe than that of imports during the same period. Germany exported goods worth €7.6 billion to Russia in 2024, compared to €26.6 billion in 2021. Since Russia's attack on Ukraine, the European Union (EU) has adopted a number of sanctions that restrict trade with Russia.

The EU's 17 sanctions packages to date aim, among other things, at import bans on certain goods such as energy or export bans, particularly on industrial or military-related goods, at Russia's access to capital and financial markets, at exclusion from the SWIFT banking system, and at entry and flight bans as well as at entry bans against the Russian shadow fleet. The measures are also intended to prevent existing sanctions from being circumvented through trade with third countries. However, the extent to which this is successful cannot be determined based on foreign trade data alone. Russia's share of total goods imports to Germany fell to just over 0.1 percent in 2024, compared to 2.8 percent in 2021 before the outbreak of the war. In terms of exports, Russia's share of all goods exports from Germany plummeted from 1.9 percent in the year before the Russian attack on Ukraine to 0.5 percent recently. In terms of imports, Russia slipped to 59th place among Germany's most important supplier countries in 2024—down from 12th place in 2021. In 2024, Russia ranked 36th among the most important recipients of German exports, compared to 15th place three years earlier. Last year, Germany achieved its largest export surplus in foreign trade with the Russian Federation since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Exports exceeded imports by €5.8 billion in 2024 – marking the fourth time an export surplus has occurred, following the years 2023, 2020, and 1993. By comparison, in 2022, the year the war broke out, Germany recorded a record foreign trade deficit of €21.8 billion. Compared to the previous year, 2021, exports had almost halved, partly due to the sanctions package, while the remaining imports had increased further in value, particularly due to the sharp rise in energy prices. The most important import from Russia last year was metals, valued at just under €0.8 billion and accounting for 42.3 percent of all imports from there. This was followed by chemical products, with a 24.7 percent share, and food and animal feed, with 15.2 percent of all imported goods from Russia. In 2021, crude oil and natural gas were by far the most imported goods from Russia, with a value of €19.5 billion and a 58.8 percent share of all imports from there. Other important imports in the year before the outbreak of the war were metals (13.5 percent) and coking and petroleum products (8.3 percent). In 2024, pharmaceutical and similar products accounted for almost a third of exports to Russia (30.6 percent, or €2.3 billion). This was followed by chemical products (13.9 percent) and machinery (11.9 percent). In 2021, more than a fifth (21.9 percent, or €5.8 billion) of all German exports to Russia were machinery, ahead of motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts (16.5 percent) and chemical products (11.4 percent). The EU as a whole has also significantly reduced its trade with Russia. Although the sharp rise in energy prices following the outbreak of war in Ukraine had led to a peak in EU imports from Russia in 2022, in 2024, EU member states' imports from Russia fell by 78.0 percent from just over €163.6 billion in 2021 to €36.0 billion compared to the pre-war level. The share of goods imported from Russia in all EU imports fell from 7.7 percent to 1.5 percent over the same period. EU exports to Russia also saw a significant decline, falling by 64.6 percent within three years. In 2024, the EU exported goods worth just under €31.6 billion to Russia, compared to €89.2 billion in 2021. The share of goods exported to Russia in total EU exports fell from 4.1 percent to 1.2 percent over the same period. Thus, EU imports from Russia exceeded its exports to Russia by just under €4.5 billion in 2024. This was the EU's smallest trade deficit with Russia since the data series began in 2002. By comparison, in 2022 the trade deficit peaked at €147.5 billion. The main reason for the continued import surplus in 2024 was that the EU continued to import significant amounts of oil and natural gas from Russia. Oil and gas imports from there were worth €21.3 billion and accounted for 59.1 percent of all EU imports from Russia. The largest EU importers of Russian oil and gas in 2024 were Hungary (21.8 percent), Slovakia (15.8 percent), and France (14.5 percent). Following oil and gas, metals followed with 15.0 percent and chemical products with 9.6 percent as other important imports from Russia. More than a quarter of EU exports to Russia consisted of pharmaceutical products (28.1 percent, or almost €8.9 billion), followed by chemical products (13.9 percent) and food and animal feed (9.5 percent), according to the Federal Office.