India imported goods worth $47.28 billion from Russia between April and September 2026, with crude oil and petroleum products accounting for nearly 85% of the total. The remaining 15%, valued at around $7.04 billion, comprised commodities and other merchandise, including coal, fertilisers, vegetable oils, pulses, non-ferrous metals, chemicals, dyeing and tanning materials, and transport equipment, according to the latest government data.
Russia remained India's second-largest source of merchandise imports after China. The figures indicate that, alongside its substantial energy purchases, India is increasingly sourcing a wider range of commodities and industrial inputs from Moscow.
Coal and fertiliser imports register strong growth
The increase in non-oil imports has been driven by a combination of price and volume factors, according to trade experts. Global geopolitical developments have affected energy and commodity prices, while disruptions caused by the ongoing conflict in West Asia have encouraged India to diversify supply chains, particularly for essential inputs and intermediate goods.
Coal, coke and briquettes accounted for the largest share of India's non-oil imports from Russia. Purchases of these commodities rose by around 36% year on year to $2.56 billion in the first half of FY27, compared with $1.89 billion during the corresponding period of the previous financial year.
Fertiliser imports also recorded a substantial increase. India imported Russian fertilisers worth $2.12 billion between April and September 2026, more than 60% higher than the $1.32 billion recorded in the same six-month period of FY26.
Vegetable oil imports from Russia rose by over 42% to nearly $1 billion in the first half of the current financial year, against approximately $700 million a year earlier.
Purchases of non-ferrous metals registered an even sharper increase, surging by more than 162% year on year to $112.2 million during April-September 2026.
Imports of pulses rose by over 73% to $95.35 million in the first half of FY27. Notably, the value of pulses imported from Russia in just six months exceeded India's total purchases of the commodity from the country during the whole of FY26, when imports stood at $81.15 million.
Russian crude imports could approach last year's total
Energy continues to dominate India's trade with Russia, and the latest figures suggest that crude oil and petroleum product imports could rise further during the current financial year.
India imported Russian crude oil and petroleum products worth $40.25 billion in the first six months of FY27. This was already around 90% of the $44.38 billion spent on these imports during the whole of FY26.
The previous financial year's total comprised crude oil imports worth $40.82 billion and petroleum product purchases of $3.56 billion.
The pace of imports in the first half of FY27 suggests that India's energy trade with Russia remains substantial, even as New Delhi seeks to broaden the range of goods it sources from the country.
India and EAEU move towards a free trade agreement
India and Russia are also looking to expand their economic relationship beyond energy. In August 2025, India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) formally agreed to begin negotiations for a free trade agreement.
The EAEU is a five-member economic bloc comprising Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic. India and the grouping had been discussing closer economic cooperation since 2017.
The proposal was also discussed during the 22nd India-Russia annual summit in Moscow in July 2024, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed their ambition to establish an India-EAEU free trade area.
Negotiations have since made progress. In June 2026, the two sides agreed on the broad contours of trade liberalisation for goods, while discussions have also covered tariff concessions, technical regulations, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, customs procedures and protection of intellectual property rights.
In September, EAEU trade commissioner Andrei Slepnev said the negotiations were progressing and that another round was expected in November, focusing on access to each other's markets. India has also been seeking to expand its export markets and reduce the substantial trade imbalance with Russia.
The two sides have set a target of raising bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030.
Trade remains heavily tilted in Russia's favour
Bilateral trade between India and Russia reached a record $68.7 billion in FY25 before declining to around $60 billion in FY26, according to government data.
The trade relationship remains heavily weighted towards Russian exports. India's exports to Russia were below $5 billion in FY26, while imports from Russia stood at around $55 billion.
Energy remains the principal component of India's purchases, but demand for Indian goods in the Russian market has also increased in recent years. Products identified by trade experts as having growing demand include meat and meat products, fish and aquatic products, vegetables, coffee, tea and spices.
The proposed India-EAEU trade agreement is expected to provide an additional framework for expanding market access and diversifying the goods exchanged between the two sides. For India, increasing exports to Russia and other EAEU members could help address the trade imbalance while strengthening economic ties beyond crude oil and other energy supplies.