VLADIVOSTOK, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The volume of goods passing through customs in Russia's Far East rose 11 percent in 2023, yielding record tariffs, an official said on Friday.
Ruslan Davydov, acting head of the Federal Customs Service (FCS), said the region's trade turnover rose 11 percent to 211 million tons last year, with imported containers up 14 percent to 669,000.
Last year, Russia collected a record amount of tariffs of 1.58 trillion rubles (about 17.1 billion U.S. dollars) in the Far East, surpassing 1 trillion rubles (about 10.8 billion dollars) for the first time, customs data showed.
To cope with the growing cargo flow, the FCS expanded its staff by almost 1,000 people in the Far East in the last two years, Davydov said.
Trade turnover between the Russian Far East and the Asia-Pacific reached 47 billion dollars in 2023, up more than 10 percent from 2022, data showed.
Davydov said China remained the top trade partner of the Far East, accounting for 72 percent of the total trade turnover in 2023.
"In my opinion, the prospects are very good. I have already said that the global turn to the East has taken place. Everyone understands that the Far East is given special attention," he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier that the development of the Far East is an absolute priority for Russia for the entire 21st century. ■
