Imports from Russia up 64% to $36.27 bn in Apr-Oct; crude, fertiliser tops

India's imports from Russia rose 64 per cent to USD 36.27 billion during the April-October period this fiscal on higher shipments of crude oil and fertiliser, according to the commerce ministry data.

With this, Russia has become India's second-largest import source during the first seven months of this fiscal.

The imports were USD 22.13 billion during April-October 2022.

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 over 40 per cent.

India, the world's third-largest crude importer after China and the United States, has been buying Russian oil after some countries in the West shunned it as a means of punishing Moscow for invading Ukraine.

The ministry's data showed that imports from China dipped marginally to USD 60.02 billion during the period against USD 60.26 billion in the year-ago period.

Similarly, imports from the US declined 16 per cent to USD 24.89 billion during the period under review from USD 29.56 billion last year.

Imports from the UAE contracted 21 per cent to USD 24.91 billion during the period under review.

During the first seven months of this fiscal, imports also dipped from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Indonesia, Singapore, and Korea.

Among all the top 10 import source nations of India, imports from Switzerland increased to USD 13.97 billion as against USD 10.48 billion in April-October 2022 due to gold imports.

On the export front, India's exports to six of its top-10 destinations have recorded a negative growth rate during the period.

During the first seven months of this fiscal, the country's merchandise exports to the US, the UAE, Singapore, Germany, Bangladesh, and Saudi Arabia have declined.

However, exports to the UK, Australia and the Netherlands have recorded positive growth.

The outbound shipments to China rose to USD 8.92 billion during the period under review from USD 8.85 billion in April-October 2022.

India's overall merchandise exports rose by 6.21 per cent to USD 33.57 billion in October this year even as trade deficit ballooned to USD 31.46 billion during the month, government data showed on Wednesday.