The balance of foreign trade within Ural Customs Administration zone reached $5 billion in January-March 2007, which falls short of figures for a year earlier by 43.1% due to a 45.9% increase in import figures and a 26.5% decrease in export ones, Ural Customs Administration’s press officer reports.

The total value of exported goods amounted to $8 billion in January-June 2007, with 80.4%, or $6.4 billion worth of goods shipped far abroad and 19.6%, or $1.6 billion worth of goods shipped to the CIS. The export volume reached 10.4 million tons, with 31.7%, or 3.3 million tons shipped to the CIS and 68.3%, or 7.1 million tons shipped far abroad. Prices went up by 39.5% on average compared to a year earlier, with goods exported far abroad growing nearly 56% more expensive and goods exported to the CIS becoming 6.9% pricier. In the first half of the year, most of the goods were delivered to the Netherlands, Kazakhstan, the U.S., Iran, Turkey, Italy, the Ukraine, Germany, India, and Algeria; the share of goods exported to these countries in the total export volume came to 14.6%, 10.8%, 7.9%, 7.3%, 6.7%, 6.3%, 4.7%, 3.8%, 3.5%, and 2.9%, respectively.

The total value of imported goods amounted to $2.9 billion in January-June 2007, with 52.5%, or $1.5 billion worth of goods shipped far abroad and 47.5%, or $1.4 billion worth of goods shipped to the CIS. Imports went up 45.9% compared to a year ago, largely due to a 52% increase in imports from far abroad and a 39.6% increase in imports from the CIS. This can be explained by growing contract prices and greater import volume that reached 17.7 million tons, with over 97%, or 17.2 million tons arriving from the CIS and 2.9%, or 516,300 tons arriving from far abroad. This is .7% greater than in the first half of 2006 because of a 48.6% increase in imports from far abroad (even though the imports from the CIS went down by .2% compared to a year earlier). Prices went up by 44.8% on average compared to a year earlier. Most of the goods were imported from Kazakhstan, the Ukraine, Germany, China, Italy, Poland, Uzbekistan, and the U.S. The share of goods imported from these countries in the total import volume came to 31.3%, 9.8%, 8.9%, 7.2%, 5.2%, 4.9%, and 3.8%, respectively.