OREANDA-NEWSIn the first quarter of this year, trade between Russia and Japan decreased by about 10% compared to the same period last year under the influence of falling demand and various restrictions associated with the coronavirus pandemic.

In January-March 2020, bilateral trade, according to this information, amounted to approximately 527.6 billion yen (slightly less than $ 4.9 billion at the current exchange rate). At the same time, a year ago, it reached the amount of 580.9 billion yen (almost $ 5.4 billion). According to the ministry, the supply of Russian commodities, Japanese cars and other equipment was significantly reduced.

Japanese exports fell 11.7% in March compared to last year, driven by declining global demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. It amounted to 6 trillion 358 billion yen (more than $ 59 billion), the country's finance ministry said on Monday. This is Japan's largest drop in exports since July 2016. Deliveries of Japanese goods to Asian countries, including China, which account for more than half of exports, fell in March by 9.4%.

At the same time, in March, the volume of imports to Japan decreased by 5% compared with data for the same month a year ago - to the level of 6 trillion 353 billion yen (almost $ 59 billion). Before that, in February it decreased by almost 14%.