Algeria accounted for the majority of shipments while Nigeria boosted tech imports

Exports from Moscow-based firms to African countries surged dramatically in the first quarter of 2026, increasing 52-fold year-on-year to nearly 586 million rubles ($7.8 million), the Moscow mayor's office reported on Tuesday.

The increase comes as broader Russia-Africa trade has also expanded, reaching $27.7 billion in 2025, Irina Abramova, director of the Institute for African Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, said.

Officials note that the growth is part of a longer-term strategy to support Moscow-based companies entering African markets. "This is not a one-off success," said Vitaly Stepanov, head of the Moscow Export Center, stressing that targeted support programs for exporters have been in place since 2019.

Algeria emerged as the largest destination, accounting for 89% of total exports. Shipments to the country were dominated by food industry products. Nigeria also featured as a key partner, with Moscow-based companies exporting mainly information technology, telecommunications, and computer-related goods and services.

Electronics and electrical engineering formed the backbone of Moscow's export structure, making up nearly 60% of total shipments and generating an additional 1.32 billion rubles in revenue for local businesses. Demand was also reported for medical and pharmaceutical products, as well as broader consumer goods.

According to the statement, the total volume of exports of finished goods from Moscow-based companies to African countries in 2025 rose by more than 37%, exceeding 2.2 billion rubles.

In April, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that 81 Russian regions are now engaged in cooperation with African countries, with Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Astrakhan, Novosibirsk, and Leningrad regions, as well as the Krasnodar and Perm territories, among the most active.

Momentum in Russia-Africa trade is also visible beyond Moscow's export figures. According to the Agroexport agency, Russian wheat shipments to Sudan more than doubled, reaching around 1.7 million tons since the start of the 2025/26 season, compared with 0.7 million tons a year earlier.

Meanwhile, trade with Ethiopia nearly tripled in 2025, surpassing $435 million in total turnover, Russian Ambassador to Ethiopia Evgeny Terekhin said in February.

(RT.com)