The last couple of years have seen a rise in Russia–Africa trade, with aggregate turnover reaching USD 14.5 billion in 2016, up by USD 3.4 billion year-on-year. The bulk of it (USD 10.1 billion) was done by four countries, including Egypt (USD 4.16 billion), Algeria (USD 3.98 billion), Morocco (USD 1.29 billion) and South Africa (USD 718 million), with Algeria as the major growth driver adding USD 2 billion.
Agriculture is one of the significant contributors to the bilateral trade. Africa is becoming a promising market for Russian grain and agricultural machinery. Egypt, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau, CAR, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Mali are in turn increasing supplies of fruit and vegetables to Russia, benefiting from Russia’s counter-sanctions against European food products.
According to the Eurasian Economic Commission, Africa was the only region to have expanded its trade turnover with Russia in 2016 (unlike the EU, MERCOSUR, APEC, and others).