India’s imports from Russia rise to USD 41.56 billion in April-Feb period

New Delhi, Mar 15 (PTI) India’s imports from Russia jumped about five times to USD 41.56 billion during the April-February period of this fiscal due to increasing inbound shipments of crude oil from that country, according to the commerce ministry data.

In 2021-22, Russia was India’s 18th largest import partner, accounting for USD 9.86 billion of imports.

From just 0.2 per cent of all oil imported by India, Russia supplied 28 per cent of the total oil imported in January.

Russia has become India’s fourth largest import source in the first 11 months of the current fiscal.

From a market share of less than 1 per cent in India’s import basket before the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia’s share of India’s oil imports rose to 1.27 million barrels per day in January, taking the share to 28 per cent, according to energy cargo tracker Vortexa.

India, the world’s third-largest crude importer after China and the United States, has been buying Russian oil that was available at a discount after some in the West shunned it as a means of punishing Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine.

The ministry’s data showed that imports from China rose by about 6.2 per cent to USD 90.72 billion during the April-February period.

Similarly, imports from UAE increased by 21.5 per cent to USD 48.88 billion.

India’s imports from the US grew by about 19.5 per cent to USD 46 billion during the period.

On the export front, the US emerged as the top destination for Indian exporters during the 11-month period, accounting for 17.5 per cent of the country’s total outbound shipments.

Exports to the US increased to USD 70.99 billion as against USD 68.447 billion during April-February period of 2021-22.

As per the data, exports to the UAE increased to USD 28.63 billion during the April-February period as against USD 24.95 billion in the year-ago period.

Exports to China, however, dipped to USD 13.64 billion during the period as against USD 19.81 billion during April-February period of 2021-22.