India’s crude import patterns are undergoing a significant shift as the country diversifies away from Russian barrels under pressure from the US. Petroleum crude imports from Russia dropped sharply by 28.93 per cent, from $4,675 million in September 2024 to $3,322 million in September 2025. This decline follows the additional 25 per cent tariff imposed by the US on purchases of Russian oil, which came into effect on 27th August 2025.

businessline’s analysis of data from the Ministry of Commerce for September 2025 shows that India’s total crude imports fell by 6.66 per cent year-on-year, from $11,476 million in September 2024 to $10,712 million this year. Besides Russia, imports from Iraq also declined 16 per cent.

But India appears to be actively exploring imports from other countries t

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