Imports from Russia up 64% to $36.27 bn

New Delhi: India’s imports from Russia rose 64 per cent to $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 $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 $60.02 billion during the period against $60.26 billion in the year-ago period. Similarly, imports from the US declined 16 per cent to $24.89 billion during the period under review from $29.56 billion last year. Imports from the UAE contracted 21 per cent to $24.91 billion during the period under review.