India is planning to boost shipments to Russia by an additional $2 billion as the two nations work out a payment system in local currencies to continue bilateral trade following international sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine, Bloomberg has reported.
The government is in talks with Russia to liberalize market access for several Indian-made products.
The two countries are exploring trade in rupees and rubles and look for ways to balance the trade given that India is a net importer of Russian goods.
On the list are pharmaceutical products, plastics, organic and inorganic chemicals, home furnishings, rice, beverages such as tea and coffee, milk products, and bovine products.
Currently, India’s exports to Russia stand at a miniscule $3 billion compared to the over $68 billion of shipments to the US.
Total bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $11.8 billion in the first 11 months starting April 2021, higher than $8.1 billion recorded for the previous full-year.
India's total purchase of oil from Russia in a month is probably less than what Europe does in an afternoon, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday.
"I noticed you refer to oil purchases. If you are looking at energy purchases from Russia, I would suggest that your attention should be focused on Europe. We do buy some energy, which is necessary for our energy security. But I suspect looking at the figures, probably our total purchases for the month would be less than what Europe does in an afternoon," Mr Jaishankar told a reporter when asked about India's oil purchase from Russia.
Jaishankar was addressing a joint news conference with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh along with their American counterparts Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, after the conclusion of the 2+2 Ministerial on Monday.
Russia is one of the world’s top three crude producers, behind Saudi Arabia and the United States. It is also the world’s largest exporter of oil to global markets and the second largest crude oil exporter.
Europe depends on Russia for about 40 per cent of its natural gas, with most being transported by pipeline.
Recently, it was reported that the government is considering Russia’s offer to buy oil and commodities at a discounted price.
As per the report, out of 80 per cent of India's oil imports, 2 to 3 per cent account from Russia currently. However, with soaring oil prices, India is planning to increase its oil imports from Russia.
Meanwhile, the government is also considering introducing the Rupee payments option to continue trade with Russia, as the latter is banned from the SWIFT international banking system.
