The energy bill has increased considerably in 2022.
Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, French exchanges with Russia have, of course, evolved considerably. From February 24, 2022 following the sanctions imposed by the European Commission, French exports to the country were halved, and have remained overall at this level since. For example, France no longer exported aircraft, aircraft parts and aeronautical equipment from this date, “which translates into an 84% drop in aeronautical exports to this country compared to 2021“, note the Customs in the annual balance sheet of foreign trade, published this Tuesday morning.
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The main products traded with Russia in 2021 and 2022 Annual review of Foreign Trade / Customs
Imports, on the other hand, have increased significantly in value. A counter-intuitive observation at first glance, while trade relations with this country have suddenly cooled and import volumes have decreased. This is actually due to “the price effect» Russian energy products: the bill rose to 17.6 billion in 2022, after 11 billion, a jump of 60%. “The energy deficit with Russia narrowed in the second half of 2022 due to the fall in French supplies of natural hydrocarbons”underline the Customs.
From the autumn, in fact, the cost of imports from Russia began to fall. Due, firstly, to the fall in the price of raw materials, and the shutdown of Nord Stream 1 at the end of September. Europe then introduced embargoes in December, including that on Russian crude oil. France has “substituted part of its gaseous natural gas imports from Russia with LNG from the United States, and to a lesser extent from Russia and Qatar, as well as gaseous natural gas imports from Norway”, note the Customs.
Sanctions not lifted
Russia’s weight in France’s supplies remains, overall, moderate in 2022 (2.6% of our total imports of goods). But it increased slightly compared to 2021 (+2.2%) due, therefore, to the sharp rise in energy prices. The bilateral deficit with Russia widened sharply, from 6.4 billion in 2021 to 16.7 billion in 2022. According to Sylvain Bersinger, economist at Asterès, “It is likely that French imports from Russia will decrease in the months (and probably years) to come due to the embargo decided at the beginning of February on Russian refined petroleum products (after the embargo on crude oil in December). And French exports to Russia are unlikely to rebound in 2023 since trade sanctions are unlikely to be lifted in the short term..