One of the most important indicators of a country's economic development is export, its volume and structure. Knowledge of what Russia is selling abroad will help to understand the specifics of the country's economy, its strengths and weaknesses.
The Russian economy is consistently among the ten largest in the world. It is focused not only on the domestic but also on the foreign market. And if the quantitative indicators of exports are constantly changing depending on the conjuncture of world markets, then the qualitative composition of the supply of goods from Russia remains fairly constant.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the most extensive category of Russian exports remains minerals. About 60% of the value of all exported goods is accounted for by hydrocarbons. More than half of all exported energy resources are crude oil. Russian oil is cheaper than, for example, raw materials produced in Saudi Arabia, primarily due to its lower quality. The second place in terms of supplies abroad is taken by natural gas. In terms of the reserve of this resource, Russia is in first place in the world. And about 17% of exports are various types of petroleum products, mainly gasoline.
The significant role of hydrocarbons in exports and in the trade balance as a whole makes Russia dependent on world oil prices. Another problem for the economy is the fact that unprocessed raw materials are actively exported abroad. This hinders the development of the oil industry in the country, depriving the budget of additional taxes, and depriving people of jobs in production.
In addition to hydrocarbons, Russia also exports other minerals. Metals and precious stones account for approximately 15% of exports. Russia contains a significant part of the world's proven diamond reserves, as well as rare ores, such as uranium.
The export of agricultural products, mainly wheat, is gradually increasing. This is a promising direction, since the world is already experiencing a shortage of food resources.
Russia also exports industrial goods, such as military equipment and chemical products. However, the share of such high-tech exports has dropped significantly since Soviet times.
