In January Japan significantly increased its purchases of Russian grain. According to Japanese customs data, imports grew 2.7 times compared to the same period last year, reaching 277 tons.

In monetary terms deliveries increased even more significantly to 18 million yen, which is equivalent to approximately $117,300 at the current exchange rate. At the same time, fish imports from Russia fell by 2.6% to 7,500 tons. However, the cost of these purchases rose by 25.2% to 11.6 billion yen (about $75.8 million), which may indicate an increase in prices or a change in the structure of supplies.

South Korea's imports of Russian aluminum in January reached their highest level in the history of modern observations for this month. According to data from the South Korean statistical service, companies purchased $114.9 million worth of raw aluminum, compared to $110.5 million a year earlier. The annual growth was almost 4%.

This was a record for January since statistics began to be published in 2000. Russia ranked first among suppliers of unprocessed aluminum to the South Korean market with a share of 25.7%. Australia took second place (23.5%), and India took third (10.3%).