Imports from Russia up 67% in Apr-Sep on higher shipments of oil: Govt data

India's imports from Russia rose by about 67 per cent to $ 30.42 billion during the April-September 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 half of this fiscal.

The imports were $ 18.24 billion during April-September 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 that was available at a discount after some countries 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 dipped to $ 50.47 billion during the period against $ 52.42 billion in the same period last year.

Similarly, imports from the US declined to $ 21.39 billion during the period under review from $ 25.79 billion in April-September last year.

Imports from the UAE contracted to $ 20.7 billion during April-September 2023 compared to $ 27.8 billion a year ago.

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

Among all the top ten import source nations of India, imports from Hong Kong increased to $ 10.21 billion as against $ 10 billion in April-September 2022.

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

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

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

India's merchandise exports contracted by 2.6 per cent to $ 34.47 billion in September even as the country's merchandise trade deficit narrowed to $ 19.37 billion during the month under review, according to the government data released on Friday.