Russia Has Earned $300M on Vaccine Exports So Far, Lags China

[Yongpeng Sun-Tastaufen]

Russia Has Earned $300M on Vaccine Exports So Far, Lags China - The Moscow Times

Russia exported more than $300 million worth of vaccines in the first five months of the year, customs data shows — more than the entire value of vaccines sold in the previous three years combined.

www.themoscowtimes.com

In the first five months of 2021, Russia sold more vaccines abroad than in the last three years combined.

Russia exported more than $300 million worth of vaccines in the first five months of the year, customs data shows — more than the entire value of vaccines sold in the previous three years combined.

The increase was driven by foreign sales of Russia’s flagship Sputnik V anti-coronavirus vaccine, with millions of doses shipped overseas to customers including Argentina, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Hungary and Serbia.

The figure also includes sales of non-coronavirus vaccines — mainly shots against yellow fever and flu. But the Trade Ministry told the RBC business site that the large jump in sales was mainly due to Sputnik V exports.

Russia has not revealed specific details on how much money it has made, or expects to make, from selling Sputnik V around the world.
In the whole of 2019, Russia exported $60 million of vaccines — a figure which grew in 2020 to $70 million.
In the first five months of 2021, Moscow’s vaccine exports surged to a total of $304 million, according to customs data analyzed by RBC. That compares to just $10 million during the same period of 2020.
But amid production delays and numerous delivery issues among key Sputnik V customers, Russia’s growth in vaccine exports significantly lags the increases in sales registered by other countries exporting coronavirus shots.

China increased its vaccine exports almost 100-fold during the first five months of 2021 — selling $1.8 billion worth compared to just $19 million in the same period last year. While the European Union has sold $6.4 billion in vaccines outside the bloc, up from $4.3 billion, and the U.S. also exported more than $1.5 billion.
Russia is hoping a successful Sputnik V export drive could help the country break into the lucrative medical exports market, providing both a new income stream for coronavirus vaccines, and also opening the door for Russia to sell other pharmaceutical products around the world.