China accounted for 50% of the crude oil and oil products exported from Russia in 2023 and India 40%.
The Russian government announced this in a statement the CFTS portal reports, citing the Interfax news agency.
"The main partners in the current situation are China, whose share has increased to about 45-50%, and, of course, India. Previously, there were practically no supplies to India, and the total share of supplies to India has reached about 40% in two years," Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak said.
He added that deliveries of Russian crude oil to Europe have decreased tenfold. If 40-45% of Russian crude oil and oil products were exported to the European Union before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, then this share will not exceed 4-5% in 2023.
As reported earlier, from the beginning of 2023 to mid-December, Russia exported about 250 million tons of crude oil, which is 7% more than it exported in 2021. The Russians achieved this mainly thanks to a historic high in trade with China.
India has become one of the major markets to which Russia is reorienting its exports. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, India significantly increased its imports of Russian crude oil, which has become undesirable in Western countries. Its share of the Indian market had increased to a record high of 23% as of the summer of 2023 (from only 2% before the war).
At the same time, petroleum products produced in India from Russian crude oil are exported to the European Union. For example, Germany reportedly increased its imports of petroleum products from India 12 times in the first half of 2023. Imports from India mainly consisted of gas oils, which are used to produce diesel or fuel oil. India produces these gas oils from crude oil, which it buys in large quantities from Russia.
Turkey is another major purchaser of Russian crude oil. Like India, it processes Russian crude oil and then exports it in the form of petroleum products.
