Russian Economics and Agribusiness in 2018

The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world. With a total territory of 17.1 million square kilometers, Russia is almost twice the size of the United States. Geographically, Russia shares a border with fourteen countries, including China, Kazakhstan, the Ukraine, and Mongolia. Likewise, the country has a rugged and mountainous terrain, a harsh seasonal climate, and 37.653 kilometers of coastline. Meanwhile, the first round of Russia’s upcoming presidential elections is scheduled for Sunday, March 18. If no candidate earns a majority during this first voting round, a second and decisive round would be held three weeks later. Nevertheless, incumbent President Vladimir Putin, who has decided to run for yet another term as president, is expected to win handily.

Some of the indicators that will help President Putin hold onto power in Russia’s upcoming election are the registered Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 1.8% for 2017, after years of economic contraction, and the record low food price inflation of 1.1% registered for 2017. Russia’s overall Consumer Price Index (CPI) registered an inflation of 2.5% during 2017, which represents an important decrease from 5.4% in 2016. Similarly, food price inflation decreased from 4.6% in 2016 to 1.1% in 2017. Nevertheless, both of these inflation indicators are below the stated target of the Central Bank of Russia, which is 4.0%. During 2018, it is expected that both the real food price inflation and the Consumer Price Index in Russia will hit closer to the stated target of 4.0%.

Russian Economics and Agribusiness in 2018

Today, Russia has a total population of approximately 142.3 million citizens, which makes it the ninth most populous country in the world. Furthermore, about 74% of Russians live in an urban setting, notably the capital city of Moscow with 12.2 million inhabitants. Meanwhile, the median age in Russia is 40 years old. In economic terms, Russia has a GDP of US$4 trillion (in terms of purchasing power parity, PPP), which represents the seventh largest economy in the world. Likewise, Russia’s economy is divided into 5% agriculture, 33% manufacturing, and 62% services. Similarly, it is estimated that the agricultural industry employs 9% of the national labor force, while manufacturing employs 28% and services employ another 63%. Lastly, in Russia, the agriculture industry utilizes 13% of the national territory, while another 49% is forested.

In terms of trade, Russia is the world’s sixteenth largest export economy. During 2016, the country imported US$180 billion worth of goods and exported US$282 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of US$102 billion. Furthermore, Russia’s main export, representing 26% or US$73.7 billion of the country’s total in 2016, was crude petroleum. Likewise, the country’s main import that same year, representing 3.8% or US$6.9 billion of all international purchases, were packaged medicaments. Meanwhile, Russia’s main trading partners are the European Union, China, Belarus, the United States, and Turkey.

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