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Officers arrange gold bars at Russia’s central bank. Photo/Sergei Fadeichev/TASS
BEIJING – China increases gold imports from Russia in 2022, according to data released by the country’s customs agency on Saturday (21/1/2023).
Last year, China purchased a total of 6.6 tonnes of Russian gold, valued at USD 386.9 million, including shipments in unprocessed (3.7 tonnes) and semi-finished (2.9 tonnes) form.
In December alone, gold shipments from Russia to China totaled 220.2 kilograms, valued at USD 14.85 million.
Overall, Russia’s gold exports to the Asian country jumped 67.3% physically and 63.3% in monetary terms from 2021.
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So far, however, Russia’s share of China’s gold purchases has been small. The main supplier of gold to China is Switzerland, with sales in 2021 of over $34 billion.
Completing the top five gold suppliers to China are Canada, South Africa, Australia and Hong Kong.
Russia’s gold exports started to fall under Western sanctions in mid-2022. The European Union, UK, US, Japan and Canada banned the purchase, import or transfer, directly or indirectly, of gold originating in Russia and exported from the country.
Before the sanctions, the UK was Russia’s biggest gold buyer, acquiring 266.1 tonnes of the metal (88% of total exports), valued at USD 15.4 billion, in 2021.
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