Johannesburg, Jul 3 (PTI) South Africa's exports to its BRICS partner Russia dropped by a third last year following the sanctions imposed by the US and Europe on Moscow in the wake of the Ukraine war, according to official figures released here.

Russia has always been South Africa's smallest trading partner in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) bloc, but its exports to Russia decreased from R6.1 billion in 2021 to R4.6 billion last year.

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The sanctions imposed by the US and Europe on Russia have had a devastating effect on the South Africa economy and the rest of the continent, especially in supplies of wheat and oil as well as its related products, with huge price increases leaving consumers embattled.

South Africa has remained steadfast in its stance of neutrality in the war, despite pressure from the US and others.

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The South Africa Revenue Service (SARS) figures showed that in 2022 China led exports from South Africa at 9.4% of the country's exports, followed by India with 4.5%, Brazil at 0.4% and Russia at only 0.2%.

Economist Helmo Preuss, providing detailed analysis of the trade figures in the daily The Star, said the supply chain disruptions due to the Ukraine war had led to South African exports to Russia suffering declines, especially in mineral products, which saw a drop to only R119 million from over a billion rand in 2021.

But although exports to Russia dropped sharply, South Africa's imports from there remained fairly stable at around R9.2 billion.

South Africa's imports from BRICS partners continued to be dominated by China with a 20.2% share, while India's share was 7.2%. Brazil had a 1.4% share and Russia managed only a 0.5% share.

While most of the 23 categories of imports from Russia showed a decline in 2022 relative to 2021, an increase in eight categories stabilised the annual percentage.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)