Russian Trade and Industry minister Denis Manturov (pictured) has revealed that many Russian automotive manufacturers are increasingly using national currencies, rather than the US dollar, to pay for imported components. The move has been prompted by recent US sanctions on Russia.
Several companies have so far announced the policy, trade with Turkey being the main beneficiary, he said.
Manturov told the Sputnik news service: "Switching to local currencies is always helpful in protecting yourselves against risk. The [Turkish] lira has weakened, and the rouble is a bit weak. [Switching to local currencies therefore] will be comfortable for us.
"I cannot tell exactly whether our producers have switched today to purchases in local currencies, because the number of our producers is too many. However, according to the interviews we had with a number of manufacturers a month ago, they were planning to switch [and trade in local currencies] in the near future," he added.
Manturov also revealed that Russia was in the process of switching to local currencies for trade with countries in the Middle East, South-East Asia, Latin America and Africa.
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said Turkey was preparing to increase trade through the use of local currencies with its top trade partners, including Russia, China, Iran and Ukraine, and that it was prepared to do so with European countries, too.
