West Asia conflict drives Indian oil exports into new European and African markets

The outbreak of war in West Asia has opened fresh avenues for India's oil product exports, with Italy, Spain, Singapore and Tanzania among the fastest-growing destinations. Disaggregated first-quarter data show Singapore becoming the third-largest market for Indian goods, while Tanzania and South Africa have broken into the top ten. Government figures indicate that countries importing close to $1 billion from India, such as Tanzania, Jordan and Sri Lanka, recorded the strongest growth, driven largely by refined petroleum shipments.

A windfall tax imposed since the conflict has pushed the proportion of oil products in exports to Tanzania up to 77% and doubled it to 32% for Sri Lanka. In Singapore, refined products now make up two-thirds of the total, up from 40% a year earlier. Spain’s export value surged from $4 million to $252 million, and Italy’s rose from $2 million to $478 million. Overall, oil product exports total $4.3 billion to Singapore, $2.2 billion to Tanzania, and $2 billion to the Netherlands, despite a 41% decline elsewhere.