West Asia Conflict Reshapes India's Trade Map

File photo (AP)

NEW DELHI: The West Asia conflict has quietly altered India’s trade map. During April-May 2025, Oman was the 30th largest source of imports for India. In the first two months of the current financial year, helped by energy, Oman moved up to 10th spot, thanks to a 3.8 times jump in imports to $3.4 billion. In contrast, during April-May, UAE slipped to the fourth place, with Russia returning to the second spot, followed by the US. India’s hunt for LPG or cooking gas is behind US moving up, while energy also helped imports from Brazil shoot up 2.8 times to $2.7 billion during this period. Shipments from Peru too were 3.7 times higher at over $2 billion, latest numbers from the commerce department showed. The South American nation is now the 20th biggest import source, compared to 35th in April-May 2025.

New pecking order

On the export front too, the trading order has seen a change. During April-May, Singapore overtook China and the Netherlands to emerge as India’s third largest export destination — lagging second-ranked UAE by $180 million (see graphic). There are other changes too: Tanzania was the eighth biggest destination for exports, compared to 25th in April and May 2025, while South Africa was at 10th position, moving up two places in a year. Commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal said oil and gems and jewellery are driving exports to Tanzania, which shot up from $800 million in April-May last year to $2.2 billion so far this year. Neighbouring Sri Lanka is now ranked 12th, with exports rising nearly three times to $1.8 billion. The 2.2 times increase in exports to Singapore to $5.1 billion was driven mainly by a surge in export of oil products to the island nation, which was hit hard due to the war in West Asia. It helped it go one up on China, which saw exports from India rise over 25%, not a mean feat, given the communist country’s tight barrier. The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial link to the Persian Gulf, has meant that Oman has become a gateway of sorts to the region. Agrawal said the Gulf nation, with which India rolled out a free trade agreement earlier this month, has opened three of its ports — Sohar, Salalah and Duqm — for Indian goods to transit to other countries, including the UAE. As a result of the efforts, exports to West Asia are nearly back to last year’s level, although imports are still around 18% lower due to energy supply disruption.