Russia surpasses UAE as India's top naphtha supplier amid discounts

Russia has overtaken the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to become India's top naphtha supplier, data shows, as New Delhi takes advantage of discounted Russian oil products and the re-routing of trade flows in the aftermath of Moscow's Ukraine invasion.

The nearby UAE had long been India's top source of imported naphtha, used to manufacture petrochemicals that end up as plastics and polyester fibres, while India previously bought little Russian naphtha because of high logistical costs, according to Reuters.

But this year, discounted Russian supplies in the aftermath of the EU's sanctions on Moscow's fuel imports as well as the higher cost of natural gas, an alternative feedstock for petrochemical makers, has found eager naphtha buyers among bargain-hunting Indian plants.