"In the first four months of 2015, German exports to Russia have seriously decreased and we see a decrease at 34 percent [in comparison with the same time period from last year], and imports have also decreased by approximately 30 percent," Eckhard Cordes said at a press conference in Berlin.
Cordes said that the situation may not improve any time soon.
"There are no signs that the situation may change," Eckhard added.
In 2014, following Crimea's reunification with Russia and the escalation of the Ukrainian conflict, the European Union, the United States and their allies accused Moscow of interference with Ukraine's internal affairs and imposed several rounds of sanctions aimed at weakening Russia’s economy.
In response to Western restrictive measures, last August, Moscow introduced a ban on the import of certain food products from the countries that imposed sanctions against it.
Russian officials have repeatedly stressed that sanctions are counterproductive and harm the side that imposes them as well.
Earlier this week, the economic and trade adviser to the Spanish Embassy in Moscow, Manuel Sanchez Melero, told Sputnik that Spain’s food sector lost almost $600 million because of the EU anti-Russia sanctions and Russia’s countermeasures.
