Yup this is where sanctions get interesting
If you look at Russia's stop exports and imports you will see the exports are predominantly raw materials based. The imports are pretty much the refined end product.
Raw materials are most easier to acquire and sell when you need generally a higher tech basis to produce the refined products
If the sanctions end up working you are going to start seeing more and more shortages of refined end products if they cannot be acquired elsewhere.
If the west can divorce themselves and cut the export of oil from Russia by half, I think they are going to be in a world of hurt. Russia oil suppliers would have to idle plants or store the product somewhere. You can only store so much.
Figures all from :
https://www.worldstopexports.com/
Top 10 Exports (2021)
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$211.5 billion (43% of total exports)
- Gems, precious metals: $31.6 billion (6.4%)
- Iron, steel: $28.9 billion (5.9%)
- Fertilizers: $12.5 billion (2.5%)
- Wood: $11.7 billion (2.4%)
- Machinery including computers: $10.7 billion (2.2%)
- Cereals: $9.1 billion (1.9%)
- Aluminum: $8.8 billion (1.8%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $7.4 billion (1.5%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $6.2 billion (1.3%)
Top 10 Imports (2021)
- Machinery including computers: US$54.3 billion (18.5% of total imports)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $36.8 billion (12.5%)
- Vehicles: $26.8 billion (9.1%)
- Pharmaceuticals: $13.8 billion (4.7%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $12.6 billion (4.3%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $8.7 billion (3%)
- Articles of iron or steel: $6.4 billion (2.2%)
- Iron, steel: $5.9 billion (2%)
- Organic chemicals: $5.8 billion (2%)
- Fruits, nuts: $5.4 billion (1.8%)
Russia's top trading partners (2021) also make for interesting reading. It is going to be interesting to see what happens to these figures after sanctions take effect. These 30 account for ~80% of Russia's exports.
- China: US$68 billion (13.8% of Russia’s total exports)
- Netherlands: $42.2 billion (8.6%)
- Germany: $29.6 billion (6%)
- Turkey: $26.5 billion (5.4%)
- Belarus: $22.8 billion (4.6%)
- United Kingdom: $22.3 billion (4.5%)
- Italy: $19.3 billion (3.9%)
- Kazakhstan: $18.5 billion (3.8%)
- United States: $17.7 billion (3.6%)
- South Korea: $16.9 billion (3.4%)
- Poland: $16.7 billion (3.4%)
- Japan: $10.7 billion (2.2%)
- France: $9.9 billion (2%)
- Finland: $9.7 billion (2%)
- India: $9.1 billion (1.9%)
- Belgium: $8.7 billion (1.8%)
- Ukraine: $8.1 billion (1.7%)
- Brazil: $5.3 billion (1.1%)
- Uzbekistan: $5.2 billion (1.1%)
- Slovakia: $5.1 billion (1%)
- United Arab Emirates: $5.1 billion (1%)
- Lithuania: $4.6 billion (0.9%)
- Latvia: $4.3 billion (0.9%)
- Greece: $4.2 billion (0.9%)
- Egypt: $4.2 billion (0.8%)
- Estonia: $4.1 billion (0.8%)
- Czech Republic: $4 billion (0.8%)
- Spain: $3.8 billion (0.8%)
- Hungary: $3.7 billion (0.8%)
- Taiwan: $3.5 billion (0.7%
Notice the lack of
India / North Korea etc that have been touted to fill the gap of the west.
www.forbes.com
www.rferl.org
www.themoscowtimes.com
www.stonewall.org.uk
en.m.wikipedia.org
www.nbcnews.com
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