Chinese Government has said it had reduced its exports of civilian drones to the U.S. eight fold year-on-year last November.
According to RIA Novosti, calculation is based on data from the U.S. Customs Service.
The dynamic was also negative as compared to October 2024, when China’s drone exports to the U.S. fell twice, namely to 2.9 million dollars in November, the data showed.
The figures marked the lowest November purchase volume since 2022, when the U.S. began buying drones from China.
The total volume of drone shipments in the first 11 months of 2024 also dropped 2.4 times year-on-year, from 205 million dollars in January to November 2023 to 84.2 million dollars last year.
This is according to the statistics.
In November 2024, the U.S. mostly imported civilian drones with takeoff weights between 250 grams (9 ounces) and 7 kilograms (15 pounds) worth 1.4 million dollars.
Also those with takeoff weights between 25 and 150 kilograms worth 1 million dollars, the data showed.
The report noted that at the end of November, China was the second-largest supplier of drones to the U.S., behind Vietnam with 10.8 million dollars worth of drone exports.
It also followed by South Korea with (1.9 million dollars), Malaysia (1.6 million dollars) and Switzerland (1.2 million dollars).
At the same time, drone imports in the U.S. decreased not only from China (down 19.4 million dollars), but from Malaysia (down 40.9 million dollars), Canada (down 1.3 million dollars), and other countries.
The increase in purchases from Vietnam (by 8.2 million dollars), South Korea (by 1.8 million dollars), and other states was not enough to close the gap.
So the total imports in November 2024 fell 3.4 times from the previous year, according to the statistics. (RIA/NAN)