That estimated dollar metric results from a 14.5% increase compared to $337.1 billion five years earlier in 2020.
Year over year, the total value of Russian exports shrank by -8.5% from $421.9 billion for 2023.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2024, the Russian ruble depreciated by -8.7% against the US dollar from 2023 to 2024. The Russian Federation’s weaker local currency makes Russian exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers starting from American currency.
Russia’s 5 most valuable export products in 2024 were crude oil, refined petroleum oils, petroleum gases, coal and unwrought gold. In aggregate, those major exports accounted for 62.7% of overall exports sales from Russia. Such a high percentage suggests that the Russian Federation distributes a relatively concentrated range of exported goods on global markets.
Russia is a world leader for exporting wheat and ranks among the most lucrative for global sales of crude oil, refined petroleum oils and coal.
Best Russian Exports Customers
The latest available country-specific data shows that 63.4% of products exported from Russia was bought by importers in: mainland China (14% of the Russian total), Netherlands (8.6%), Germany (6%), Türkiye (5.4%), Belarus (4.7%), United Kingdom (4.5%), Italy (3.9%), Kazakhstan (3.8%), United States of America (3.6%), South Korea (3.43%), Poland (3.4%) and Japan (2.2%).
From a continental perspective, 50.8% of Russia’s exports by value was delivered to fellow European countries while 39.9% was sold to importers in Asia. Russia shipped another 4.4% worth of goods to North America.
Smaller percentages went to Africa (3%), Latin America (1.8%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.1%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
Given Russia’s population of 146.1 million people, its total $491.9 billion in 2024 exports translates to roughly $2,650 for every resident in the vast Eurasian country for 2024. That metric lags the per-capita average of $2,700 in 2023.
Russia’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Russian global shipments during 2024. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Russia.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$250.4 billion (64.9% of total exports)
- Gems, precious metals: $18.7 billion (4.8%)
- Fertilizers: $13.9 billion (3.6%)
- Iron, steel: $12.4 billion (3.2%)
- Aluminum: $7.6 billion (2%)
- Cereals: $6.4 billion (1.7%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $5.9 billion (1.5%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $5.9 billion (1.5%)
- Wood: $5.7 billion (1.5%)
- Fish: $5.6 billion (1.5%)
Russia’s top 10 export product categories generated 86.1% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Ores, slag and ash was the lone grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 11.3% from 2023 to 2024.
The severest decliner among Russia’s top 10 export categories was cereals thanks to a -55.5% year-over-year drop noticeably for exports of wheat.
Note that the results listed above are at the categorized two-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level.
For a more granular view of exported goods at the four-digit HTS code level, see the section below.
Searchable List of Russia’s Most Valuable Export Products
The following searchable table displays 100 of the most in-demand goods shipped from the Russian Federation during 2024. Shown beside each product label is its total export value and, under the YOY column, the percentage increase or decrease from 2023 to 2024.
| Rank | Russia's Export Product | Value (US$) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crude oil | $122,822,122,000 | +4.8% |
| 2 | Processed petroleum oils | $44,878,207,000 | -15.9% |
| 3 | Petroleum gases | $40,320,048,000 | +3.4% |
| 4 | Coal, solid fuels made from coal | $21,779,671,000 | -31.2% |
| 5 | Gold (unwrought) | $12,313,389,000 | -9.4% |
| 6 | Aluminum (unwrought) | $6,933,613,000 | -9% |
| 7 | Iron or non-alloy steel products (semi-finished) | $5,212,731,000 | -22.6% |
| 8 | Fertilizer mixes | $4,927,778,000 | -12.3% |
| 9 | Wheat | $4,927,021,000 | -58.3% |
| 10 | Potassic fertilizers | $4,571,196,000 | +8% |
| 11 | Nitrogenous fertilizers | $4,350,269,000 | -18.5% |
| 12 | Platinum (unwrought) | $3,971,391,000 | -41.9% |
| 13 | Sun/safflower/cotton-seed oil | $3,908,541,000 | +7.8% |
| 14 | Sawn wood | $3,588,717,000 | -9.2% |
| 15 | Refined copper, unwrought alloys | $3,018,992,000 | -44.7% |
| 16 | Radioactive chemical elements | $2,962,772,000 | +4% |
| 17 | Whole fish (frozen) | $2,396,828,000 | -21.4% |
| 18 | Crustaceans (including lobsters) | $2,110,038,000 | +0.5% |
| 19 | Precious metal ores, concentrates | $1,840,242,000 | +20.7% |
| 20 | Diamonds (unmounted/unset) | $1,744,266,000 | -54.2% |
| 21 | Copper ores, concentrates | $1,477,298,000 | +53.9% |
| 22 | Synthetic rubber | $1,469,897,000 | +1.4% |
| 23 | Hot-rolled iron or non-alloy steel products | $1,463,326,000 | -2.6% |
| 24 | Nuclear reactors, fuel elements | $1,351,625,000 | +3.6% |
| 25 | Dried shelled vegetables | $1,240,858,000 | -9.8% |
| 26 | Chemical woodpulp (non-dissolving) | $1,181,895,000 | -15.2% |
| 27 | Nickel (unwrought) | $1,162,178,000 | -28.6% |
| 28 | Rape/colza/mustard oil | $1,153,576,000 | -27.7% |
| 29 | Iron ores, concentrates | $1,009,197,000 | -17.8% |
| 30 | Pig iron | $961,281,000 | -35.1% |
| 31 | Nickel matte, oxide sinters | $896,798,000 | -29.6% |
| 32 | Iron ore reduced products | $847,451,000 | +7.2% |
| 33 | Iron or steel tubes, pipes | $826,474,000 | +24% |
| 34 | Poultry meat | $787,796,000 | +4% |
| 35 | Barley | $779,365,000 | -33% |
| 36 | Copper wire | $774,118,000 | +204.2% |
| 37 | Fish fillets, pieces | $761,747,000 | -7.8% |
| 38 | Petroleum oil residues | $754,844,000 | -16.3% |
| 39 | Iron or non-alloy steel bars, rods | $741,554,000 | -16.5% |
| 40 | Coiled iron or non-alloy steel bars, rods | $730,623,000 | -10.7% |
| 41 | Copper waste, scrap | $728,474,000 | +1223% |
| 42 | Miscellaneous oil cakes | $687,716,000 | -16.8% |
| 43 | Sugar (cane or beet) | $685,832,000 | +68.7% |
| 44 | Iron and steel tubes, pipes | $684,662,000 | +8.6% |
| 45 | Lead ores, concentrates | $677,004,000 | +14% |
| 46 | Carbon including carbon blacks | $629,275,000 | -23.7% |
| 47 | Chocolate, other cocoa preparations | $617,447,000 | +5.6% |
| 48 | Laminated wood (including plywood, veneer panels) | $601,726,000 | -28% |
| 49 | Ethylene polymers | $589,653,000 | -19% |
| 50 | Propylene/olefin polymers | $532,470,000 | -18% |
| 51 | Uncoated kraft paper | $532,338,000 | +13.8% |
| 52 | Corn | $532,065,000 | -55.6% |
| 53 | Iron ferroalloys | $531,196,000 | -43.4% |
| 54 | Miscellaneous iron and steel structures | $480,671,000 | -8.1% |
| 55 | Linseed | $478,007,000 | -27.4% |
| 56 | Bread, biscuits, cakes, pastries | $470,824,000 | +3.6% |
| 57 | Silver (unwrought) | $461,910,000 | -15.4% |
| 58 | Electrical energy | $456,454,000 | -10.3% |
| 59 | Titanium | $449,934,000 | -12.5% |
| 60 | Zinc ores, concentrates | $442,046,000 | +34.3% |
| 61 | Lignite | $436,248,000 | +1059% |
| 62 | Medication mixes in dosage | $409,719,000 | -2.6% |
| 63 | Soya-bean oil | $406,005,000 | -15.9% |
| 64 | Particle board, other ligneous materials | $398,831,000 | +17.1% |
| 65 | Iron or non-alloy steel angles, shapes, sections | $394,302,000 | +23.7% |
| 66 | Soya-bean oil-cake, other solid residues | $388,480,000 | -8.5% |
| 67 | Unrefined copper | $384,605,000 | +251.9% |
| 68 | Heterocyclics, nucleic acids | $379,039,000 | -13.4% |
| 69 | Iron or steel scrap | $377,408,000 | +1% |
| 70 | Coal tar oils (high temperature distillation) | $376,275,000 | +195.8% |
| 71 | Flat-rolled other alloy steel products | $371,990,000 | -37.6% |
| 72 | Miscellaneous iron or steel tubes, pipes | $367,550,000 | -12.1% |
| 73 | Insulated wire/cable | $357,047,000 | +42.5% |
| 74 | Soya beans | $354,232,000 | -52.5% |
| 75 | Acyclic alcohols | $344,183,000 | -13.1% |
| 76 | Railway/streetcar carrier vans, wagons | $341,037,000 | +65.8% |
| 77 | Newsprint (rolls or sheets) | $333,587,000 | -20.9% |
| 78 | Nickel ores, concentrates | $333,374,000 | -13.8% |
| 79 | Ligneous fiberboard including wood | $332,338,000 | +7.9% |
| 80 | Coke, semi-coke | $324,420,000 | -5% |
| 81 | Ammonia | $318,644,000 | +102.2% |
| 82 | Bran, other residues | $318,231,000 | -6.2% |
| 83 | Uncoated paper | $317,390,000 | -5.1% |
| 84 | Automobile parts/accessories | $313,531,000 | +0.7% |
| 85 | Inedible meat flour | $312,231,000 | +15.5% |
| 86 | Temperature-change machines | $307,403,000 | -2.6% |
| 87 | Aircraft, spacecraft | $306,557,000 | -25% |
| 88 | Uncoated paper for writing/printing | $300,107,000 | -0.9% |
| 89 | Miscellaneous animal feed preparations | $278,719,000 | -3% |
| 90 | Non-radioactive isotopes | $271,161,000 | +254.3% |
| 91 | Taps, valves, similar appliances | $270,554,000 | +32.2% |
| 92 | Miscellaneous iron or steel items | $269,516,000 | +8% |
| 93 | Aircraft or spacecraft parts | $268,885,000 | -33.9% |
| 94 | Other food preparations | $261,746,000 | +11.6% |
| 95 | Linens | $254,331,000 | +2948% |
| 96 | Aluminum wire | $251,379,000 | -32.2% |
| 97 | Turbo-jets | $249,374,000 | +3.3% |
| 98 | Miscellaneous plastic items | $248,734,000 | +124.6% |
| 99 | Electrical/optical circuit boards, panels | $240,458,000 | +22.7% |
| 100 | Asbestos | $239,370,000 | -7% |
These 100 exported goods were worth a subtotal of US$341.4 billion or roughly 88.4% by value for all products exported from the Russian Federation during 2024.
Products Generating Highest Trade Surpluses for Russia
Overall Russia generated an estimated US$181.7 billion trade surplus during 2024, a -10.5% decline from the $203 billion surplus one year earlier for 2023.
The following types of Russian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$249.1 billion (Down by -3.7% since 2023)
- Gems, precious metals: $17.9 billion (Down by -25.8%)
- Fertilizers: $13.8 billion (Down by -8.9%)
- Iron, steel: $9.4 billion (Down by -28.9%)
- Aluminum: $6.7 billion (Down by -12.7%)
- Cereals: $6.3 billion (Down by -55.8%)
- Wood: $5.5 billion (Down by -8.9%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $4.9 billion (Up by 19.5%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $4.6 billion (Down by -6%)
- Copper: $4.2 billion (Down by -15.9%)
Historically, Russia produces highly positive net exports in the international trade of crude and refined oils, petroleum gases and coal. In turn, these cashflows indicate Russia’s strong competitive advantages under the mineral fuels including oil category.
Products Causing Highest Trade Deficits for Russia
Below are exports from Russia that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Russia’s goods trail Russian importer spending on foreign products.
- Machinery including computers: -US$32.7 billion (Down by -8.3% since 2023)
- Vehicles: -$28.6 billion (Up by 4%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$18.7 billion (Down by -21.1%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$11.8 billion (Up by 1.2%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$6.5 billion (Down by -1.1%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$5 billion (Down by -9.9%)
- Fruits, nuts: -$4.1 billion (Down by -10.1%)
- Footwear: -$3.64 billion (Down by -18.9%)
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: -$3.62 billion (Down by -10.6%)
- Organic chemicals: -$3.3 billion (Up by 8.3%)
Russia has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for machinery including computers.
These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate Russia’s competitive disadvantages in the international machinery market, but also represent key opportunities for Russia to improve its position in the global economy through focused innovations.
Major Russian Export Companies
Almost 30 Russian corporations rank among Forbes Global 2000. The following companies are selected examples of leading companies headquartered in Russia.
- Gazprom (oil, gas)
- Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel (iron, steel)
- Mechel (iron, steel)
- Severstal (iron, steel)
- Sistema (telecommunications)
- Surgutneftegas (oil, gas)
Wikipedia also lists large international trade players from Russia.
- Alrosa (diversified metals)
- LukOil (oil, gas)
- Norilsk Nickel (diversified metals)
- Novatek (oil, gas)
- Novolipetsk Steel (iron, steel)
- Rosneft (oil, gas)
- Tatneft (oil, gas)
- Transneft (oil and gas equipment)
- UC Rusal (aluminum)
- Uralkali (specialized chemicals)
In macroeconomic terms, Russia’s total exported goods represent 5.6% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2024 ($6.905 trillion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 5.6% for exports to overall GDP per PPP in 2024 compares to 7.7% one year earlier. Those percentages suggest Russia’s relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for its total economic performance–albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Russia’s unemployment rate averaged 2.516% in 2024, down from an average 3.167% jobless rate for 2023 according to International Monetary Fund metrics.
Related Read: Russia’s Top 100 Consumer Product Exports
See also Russia’s Top 10 Imports, Russia Top Trading Partners, Top Russian Trade Balances and Russia’s Top 10 Major Export Companies
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook: Country Profiles. Accessed on May 1, 2025
EXCHANGE-RATES.org Russian Ruble (RUB) to US Dollar, Exchange Rate History. Accessed on April 29, 2025
Forbes 2020 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on May 1, 2025
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on May 1, 2025
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 1, 2025
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 1, 2025
Richest Country Reports, Key Statistics Powering Global Wealth. Accessed on May 1, 2025
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on May 1, 2025
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Russia. Accessed on May 1, 2025
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on May 1, 2025