India's imports from Russia doubled to $20.45 billion during the April-July period of this fiscal due to increasing inbound shipments of crude oil and fertiliser from that country, according to commerce ministry data.
With this, Russia has become India's second-largest import source during the first four months of this fiscal.
The imports were $10.42 billion during April-July 2022.
From a market share of less than 1% 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%.
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 dipped to $32.7 billion during the April-July period as against $34.55 billion in the same period the year earlier.
Similarly, imports from the U.S. declined to $14.23 billion during the period under review from $17.16 billion in April-July 2022. The imports from UAE too contracted to $13.39 billion during April-July 2023 as against $18.45 billion in the same period the earlier year.
On the export front, India's exports to seven of its top 10 destinations have recorded negative growth during the period.
During the first four months of this fiscal, the country's merchandise exports to the U.S., UAE, China, Singapore, Germany, Bangladesh and Italy have dipped.
However, the exports to the U.K., Netherland, and Saudi Arabia have recorded positive growth.
India's exports dropped for the six month in a row, contracting 15.9% to $32.25 billion in July this year due to a global slowdown and a fall in shipments of key sectors like petroleum, gems and jewellery.
Imports dropped for the eighth month in a row, declining 17% to $52.92 billion from $63.77 billion in July 2022. This led to a narrowing of the trade deficit to $20.67 billion against $25.43 billion in July 2022.
