Turkmen plastics and vegetables are in demand on the Russian market
Turkmenistan continues to implement two major state programs on import substitution and increasing the export capacity. That determines the course in foreign trade and domestic production. Both strategies prove to be effective. Thus, according to the Federal Customs Service of Russia, in Q1 2018, imports from Turkmenistan to Russia increased by 42.14% compared to the same period of 2017, and exports of Russian products, on the contrary, declined by 38.34%. In the structure of Russia's imports from Turkmenistan in the period from January to March 2018, the main share of supplies fell on such types of goods as textiles and footwear (51.74% of the total volume of imports), chemical products (38.61%), food products and agricultural raw materials (9.43%). The largest gains in the import of Turkmen products to Russia is attributable to increasing the supply of such items as plastics and articles thereof (an increase of 201%), Edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers (282%), articles of apparel and clothing accessories, knitted or crocheted (100%), preparations of vegetables, fruit, nuts or other parts of plants (22 times), wool (about 22.5%). The significant decrease in exports from Russia to the Turkmen market within 50%-90% was recorded for the following commodity groups – dairy products, honey, food products, vegetables and edible roots, cereals, flour and cereal products, sugar and confectionery products, fertilizers, cosmetics and detergents, rubber, leather products, glass, cement and gypsum products, furniture and bedding. The goods included in above lists belong to such industries as food, chemical, glass, textile, furniture production. These are the industrial non-hydrocarbon segments of the economy of Turkmenistan, in which production and range has been steadily growing in recent years, both through the commissioning of new enterprises and the expansion of the private sector's share. So, Turkmenistan recently launched new glass factory in Ahal province, agricultural complexes in Mary province, plant for the production of canned products in Lebap province. As a result, the domestic market is saturated with goods of local production, at prices more attractive to the consumer and in quality not inferior to import analogues, since both private and public production facilities are equipped with the latest technology. Russian Federation is a significant foreign economic partner of Turkmenistan, which is among the top ten foreign trade rating along with China, Turkey, UAE, Iran, Afghanistan, Italy. In 2017, these countries accounted for about 77% of Turkmenistan's foreign trade turnover.
