Brazil oil sales to India and China in the first half of 2022 have fallen considerably, amid a significant increase in crude exports from Russia to the two Asian countries.
According to data from Brazil’s Foreign Trade Secretariat (Secex), in the first half of the year, Brazil exported 36% less oil to China than in the same period last year. Likewise exports to India fell 53.8%.
About 12.5 million tons of oil were exported to China in the first half of this year, while in 2021, some 19.56 million tons were shipped in the same period.
Brazilian exports to China fell by 11.5% in the first half of 2022, Business Council says
From January to June this year, Brazil exported some 1.2 million tons of oil to India, but in the same period, a year ago, the volume was 2.6 million tons.
In dollars, oil exports to India fell from around USD1.09 billion to USD 589 million (down 46%). Regarding China, exports went from USD 8.06 billion last year to USD 7.9 billion in 2022 (-2%).
Amid the war in Ukraine and sanctions imposed on Russian oil by the United States and the European Union, China and India, the two most populous countries in the world, have become the leading markets for Russian crude sales.
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The price of Russian oil is more attractive than that of Brazil, which has experienced a reduction in its export numbers.
In May, Russia overtook Saudi Arabia as China’s top oil supplier, according to data released by the Chinese government, after imports of Russian oil hit a record high of 28% from the previous month.
According to freight data analyzed in June by Kpler, a market research firm, India currently imports more than 760,000 barrels daily from Russia.
