German exports to Russia last year rose by more than a fifth over 2016, according to data by Germany’s Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).

This marked the first increase since 2012 when German exports to Russia stood at EUR 38 billion before they started shrinking on the back of an economic slump in Russia compounded by sanctions imposed on Moscow for its participation in an armed conflict in eastern Ukraine and its 2014 annexation of Crimea.

In the first 11 months of last year, German companies sold EUR 24.1 billion worth of goods to Russia, with demand for machinery and cars being especially strong, the Federal Statistics Office said on Monday.