Algeria accounted for the majority of shipments while Nigeria boosted tech imports Exports from Moscow-based firms to African countries surged dramatically in the first quarter of 2026, increasing 52-fold year-on-year to nearly 586 million rubles ($7.8 million), the Moscow mayor’s office reported on Tuesday. The increase comes as broader Russia-Africa trade has also expanded, reaching $27.7 billion in 2025, Irina Abramova, director of the Institute for African Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, said. Officials note that the growth is part of a longer-term strategy to support Moscow-based companies entering African markets. “This is not a one-off success,” said Vitaly Stepanov, head of the Moscow Export Center, stressing that targeted support programs for exporters have been in place since 2019. Algeria emerged as the largest destination, accounting for 89% of total exports. Shipments to the country were dominated by food industry products.…