Russia's foreign trade surplus decreased in the reporting period as imports grew faster than exports, the customs service said.
In particular, the surplus of trade with countries excluding the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) declined to $61 billion from $76.4 billion a year earlier, while trade surplus with CIS states, a loose association of former Soviet republics, was actually unchanged at $9.7 billion, the customs service said.
The European Union continued to be Russia's leading economic partner in the reporting period, accounting for 52% of its trade turnover.
CIS states accounted for 15.3% of Russia's foreign trade, the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) contributed 8.7%, and Asia and Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries made up 18.5%, the customs service said.