RF-Japan trade almost doubles in January-September

YOKOHAMA, November 11 (Itar-Tass) -- The volume of trade between
Russia and Japan almost doubled in January-September of 2010 in comparison with the same period of 2009.
As ITAR-TASS learnt at the Japanese Finance Ministry, bilateral trade turnover over the first nine months exceeded over 1.543 billion yens (approximately 18.8 billion dollars according to the current exchange rate).
Over the same period of 2009, it amounted to less than 806.2
billion yens (some 9.8 billion dollars).
Japan's export to Russia over the first six months increased by more than two times - - up to 505.78 billion yens against 220.28 billion yens over the same period of 2009, and its import grew from 585.87 to over 1.037 billion yens.
Purchases of Russian non-ferrous metals, oil products and steel
increased in January-September by hundreds of percent.
Japan traditionally exports cars and other transport means, products of machine-building and metallurgy.
In 2009, under the influence of the global crisis, the volume of trade between the two countries slightly exceeded 40 percent against the level of 2008. From January to December, turnover amounted to about 1.132 billion yens - - approximately 12.09 billion dollars.
Japan's export to Russia, in particular, dropped by more than fivefold in comparison with 2008. Supplies of motor cars and other transport means to Russia dropped most of all.
Earlier, the volume of bilateral trade had been growing ten years in succession and had reached a record-high level by the end of 2008 - - about 30 billion dollars.