India’s Imports From Russia Doubled In April-July Due To Increase In Crude Oil Imports

India’s imports from Russia almost doubled to $20.45 billion during the first four months of the fiscal year (FY24) against $10.42 billion, on a YoY basis.

India has been purchasing crude oil from Russia, which was available at a discount, after the Western countries boycotted it to punish Russia for invading Ukraine.

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Russia became the second-largest import source for India during the April-July period of the current fiscal year. According to the data released by the commerce ministry, India’s imports from Russia almost doubled to $20.45 billion during the first four months of the fiscal year (FY24).

According to a PTI report, this increase in imports was credited to the increase in inbound shipments of crude oil and fertiliser from Russia. India’s imports from Russia stood at $10.42 billion during the same period, a year earlier. 

Prior to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia’s contribution to about 1 per cent to India’s imports. Now, Russia contributed 40 per cent to India’s oil imports itself. India has been purchasing crude oil from Russia, which was available at a discount, after the Western countries boycotted it to punish Russia for invading Ukraine. Notably, after China and US, India is the world’s third-largest crude importer, the report noted. 

According to the data revealed by the ministry, India’s imports from China decreased from $34.55 billion in April-July period in 2022 to $32.7 billion in the reported period in the current fiscal. Imports from US also declined to $14.23 billion in the reported period, down from $17.16 billion a year earlier. While, imports from UAE fell to $13.39 billion for the first four months of FY24, compared to $18.45 billion for the same period a year earlier. 

The overall imports during the month of July 2023 fell by 17 per cent to $52.92 billion. This is the eighth consecutive month to report a decrease in imports. India’s imports for July last year stood at $63.77 billion. This also impacted the trade deficit which narrowed to $20.67 billion in July in the current year, against $25.43 billion in July last year. 

With regards to exports, the country reported a negative growth in seven of it’s top 10 export destinations for the period. While exports to the US, UAE, China, Singapore, Germany, Bangladesh, and Italy declined in the reported period, India saw a growth in exports to the UK, Netherlands, and Saudi Arabia, the report added. 

India saw a fall in it’s exports by about 15 per cent to $32.25 billion in July in the current year. The global slowdown and decrease in shipments of key sectors like petroleum, jewellery, and more contributed to this contraction. This is the sixth consecutive month that reported export contraction.