22.04.2016

North Korean-Russian Bilateral Trade in 2015

In 2015 North Korean-Russian bilateral trade volume decreased by 10% and reached 83.2 million USD compared to 92.2 million USD in 2014.

North Korean exports to Russia fell to 5.7 million USD (by 43%) while imports fell to 77.5 million USD (by 6%) (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. 2007-2015 North Korean-Russian bilateral trade turnover, million USD. Source: ITC Trade Map.

North Korean exports to Russia

North Korea primarily exports to Russia the following products (see Figure 2, Table 1):

▪ Fish, crustaceans, molluscs, aquatic invertebrates nes (29%)

▪ Articles of apparel, accessories, not knit or crochet (27%)

▪ Musical instruments, parts and accessories (17%)

▪ Railway, tramway locomotives, rolling stock, equipment (6%)

▪ Manmade filaments (5%)

▪ Electrical, electronic equipment (4%)

▪ Plastics and articles thereof (3%)

▪ Wadding, felt, nonwovens, yarns, twine, cordage, etc (2%)

▪ Rubber and articles thereof (2%)

▪ Machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers, etc (1%)

▪ Cereal, flour, starch, milk preparations and products (1%)

▪ Tanning, dyeing extracts, tannins, derivs,pigments etc (1%)

▪ Milling products, malt, starches, inulin, wheat gluten (1%)

In 2015 the imports of North Korean made products in Russia experienced a significant rise . The imports of manmade filaments rise by 8733%; the imports of railway, tramway locomotives, rolling stock, equipment- by 5283%.

Figure 2. Structure of North Korean Exports to Russia in 2015. Source: ITC Trade Map.

Table 1. Key products exported from North Korea to Russia in 2015. Source: ITC Trade Map.

Product HS Code	Product Type	Volume in 2014, USD thousand	Volume in 2015, USD thousand	Change in 2015, %	Share in total product imports, %	Tariff applied by Russia to North Korean products
03	Fish, crustaceans, molluscs, aquatic invertebrates nes	$0	$1,668	-	0.00	5.4
62	Articles of apparel, accessories, not knit or crochet	$4,699	$1,531	-67%	0.1	14.9
92	Musical instruments, parts and accessories	$1,374	$963	-30%	1.4	7.7
86	Railway, tramway locomotives, rolling stock, equipment	$6	$323	5283%	0.00	6.7
54	Manmade filaments	$3	$265	8733%	0.00	7.6
85	Electrical, electronic equipment	$674	$251	-63%	0.00	3.4
39	Plastics and articles thereof	$407	$157	-61%	0.00	6.9
56	Wadding, felt, nonwovens, yarns, twine, cordage, etc	$106	$96	-9%	0.00	4.5
40	Rubber and articles thereof	$5	$91	1720%	0.00	7.1
84	Machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers, etc	$1,465	$83	-94%	0.00	1.7
19	Cereal, flour, starch, milk preparations and products	$0	$51	-	0.00	11.7
32	Tanning, dyeing extracts, tannins, derivs,pigments etc	$3	$43	1333%	0.00	2.7
11	Milling products, malt, starches, inulin, wheat gluten	$0	$42	-	0.00	7.3
90	Optical, photo, technical, medical, etc apparatus	$190	$22	-88%	0.00	2.9

Russian exports to North Korea

In 2015 Russia has exported to North Korea the following products (see Figure 3, Table 2):

▪ Mineral fuels, oils, distillation products, etc (83%)

▪ Wood and articles of wood, wood charcoal (4%)

▪ Cereals (4%)

▪ Milling products, malt, starches, inulin, wheat gluten (3%)

▪ Fish, crustaceans, molluscs, aquatic invertebrates nes (3%)

▪ Pharmaceutical products (1%)

2015 showed a significant rise in Russian exports to North Korea of cereal, flour, starch, milk preparations and products (+706%). At the same time the exports of machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers (-97%) showed a significant fall (see Table 2).

Figure 3. Structure of Russian Exports to North Korea in 2015. Source: ITC Trade Map.

Table 2. Key products exported from Russia to North Korea in 2015. Source: ITC Trade Map.

Product HS Code	Product Type	Volume in 2014, USD thousand	Volume in 2015, USD thousand	Change in 2015, %	Share in total product imports, %
27	Mineral fuels, oils, distillation products, etc	$33,984	$64,380	89%	14.7
44	Wood and articles of wood, wood charcoal	$3,523	$3,180	-10%	18.2
10	Cereals	$12,954	$2,720	-79%	21.2
11	Milling products, malt, starches, inulin, wheat gluten	$825	$2,294	178%	1.7
03	Fish, crustaceans, molluscs, aquatic invertebrates nes	$1,820	$1,996	10%	2.2
30	Pharmaceutical products	$192	$453	136%	0.6
73	Articles of iron or steel	$70	$298	326%	0.1
01	Live animals	$59	$257	336%	14.6
84	Machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers, etc	$7,865	$246	-97%	2.4
21	Miscellaneous edible preparations	$331	$157	-53%	2.3
25	Salt, sulphur, earth, stone, plaster, lime and cement	$443	$156	-65%	2.3
19	Cereal, flour, starch, milk preparations and products	$17	$137	706%	0.1
90	Optical, photo, technical, medical, etc apparatus	$29	$135	366%	0.1
17	Sugars and sugar confectionery	$55	$108	96%	0.6