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Russia's trade surplus this year is likely to be cut back to half the figure for 2008, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Monday.
"Traditionally Russia has a very large surplus," Putin said in remarks carried by the Interfax news agency.
"At the end of 2009 exports should surpass imports by about 100 billion dollars (672 million euros)."
The Russian surplus last year came to 201.2 billion dollars and 152.2 billion in 2007.
Russia, among the world's leading oil exporters, has seen the value of its exports fall in response to a decline in raw materials prices in the global financial downturn.
