Germany has almost completely stopped importing Russian goods compared to the pre-war period, but has not fully ended trade relations with Russia. In the first half of 2026, purchases of Russian products decreased by 96.4% compared to the same period in 2021. At the same time, Berlin continues to import food, metals, and chemical products.

On October 21, Deutsche Welle reports with reference to new data from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis).

According to the office, in the first six months of 2026, Germany imported goods from Russia worth just over 500 million euros. For comparison, in January-June 2021, the value of Russian imports reached 15 billion euros.

The structure of purchases has also changed significantly. If before the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the basis of imports was energy carriers, now the largest share falls on other product categories.

In the first half of 2026, Germany purchased from Russia:

  • food and feed — for 206.1 million euros, or 38.7% of all imports;
  • metals — for 168.3 million euros, or 31.6%;
  • chemical products — for 95.9 million euros, or 18%.

In the first half of 2021, only Russian oil and natural gas accounted for 9.2 billion euros, or 61.5% of German imports from Russia. Now these goods no longer determine the structure of bilateral trade.

German exports to Russia also decreased significantly, but not as much as imports. In the first half of 2026, Germany supplied goods worth 3.4 billion euros to the Russian market, compared with 12.7 billion euros in the same period of 2021. The decrease amounted to 73.1%.

The largest item of German exports to Russia remains pharmaceutical preparations. Their deliveries reached 1.5 billion euros, which corresponds to 42.4% of all exports. Machinery products accounted for 11.1%, and food and feed — 10.5%.

Before the start of the full-scale war, the situation was different: the largest share of German exports consisted of machinery and equipment, automobiles and parts, and chemical products.

The reduction in trade is accompanied by a decrease in the presence of Russian business in Germany. According to Destatis, in 2024, there were 76 companies controlled by Russian owners operating in the country, compared to 229 in 2021. Their total revenue decreased from 25.4 billion to 8.4 billion euros.

At the same time, the activities of German business in Russia decreased. In 2024, 290 companies controlled by investors from Germany operated there, while in 2021 there were 481. The revenue of these enterprises decreased from about 38 billion to 13 billion euros.

The German statistical office attributes the reduction in economic ties to the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the EU sanctions policy. Current restrictions affect the import of energy carriers, the export of industrial products, financial operations, and the access of Russian companies to European markets.

However, the statistics show that a complete cessation of economic relations between Germany and Russia did not occur. Despite the large-scale reduction in trade, certain categories of goods continue to be supplied in both directions.