The West Asia crisis has opened several new markets for India's oil product exports, with Italy and Spain at the top of the growth charts while Singapore and Tanzania have zoomed past traditional destinations, according to Business-Today. Propelled by oil, Singapore has emerged as the third-largest goods export destination for India, while Tanzania and South Africa have broken into the top 10, based on disaggregated data for the first quarter.
New markets for Indian refined products
Business-Today reported that among countries with close to $1 billion of imports from India, government data showed the highest growth was in Tanzania, Jordan and Sri Lanka. Higher prices also played a role in the value of exports rising, the publication noted.
In almost all cases — barring Hong Kong and Vietnam — the rise in exports was driven by oil product shipments, with countries relying on Indian refineries to meet their requirements amid supply disruptions.
Where growth was fastest
Official data cited by Business-Today put Italy at the top of the growth rankings, with oil product exports soaring from $2 million to $478 million. Spain was near the top as well, with the value of oil product shipments zooming from $4 million in the first quarter of the last fiscal year to $252 million this year — a 63-fold jump.
- Singapore overtook the Netherlands, UAE, the US and Australia to become the top destination, with oil product exports pegged at $4.3 billion.
- Tanzania followed at $2.2 billion.
- Netherlands took third place with $2 billion, despite a 41% decline.
Oil products' rising share of exports
The share of oil products in India's exports to these markets has increased significantly, Business-Today said. At the end of the June quarter, oil products accounted for 77% of India's exports to Tanzania, up from 59% a year earlier, while the share doubled to 32% in the case of Sri Lanka.
| Destination | Oil product share (April-June previous year) | Oil product share (June quarter current year) |
|---|---|---|
| Tanzania | 59% | 77% |
| Sri Lanka | ~16% (implied doubling) | 32% |
| Singapore | 40% (April-June 2025) | ~67% (two-thirds) |
| Spain | near zero | ~15% |
| France | near zero | ~15% |
For Singapore — the largest destination for India's refined petroleum product exports — two-thirds of exports are now accounted for by refined goods, compared with 40% during April-June 2025. For Spain and France, the oil product share is now around 15%, compared with nearly zero last year.
Policy backstop: windfall tax
Since the war started in West Asia, the government had to impose a windfall tax on certain products to keep a check on outward movement, Business-Today reported, as countries turned to Indian refineries to cover supply gaps.
Since the war started in West Asia, the government imposed a windfall tax on certain products to keep a check on outward movement.
What traders should watch
For commodity traders and procurement teams, the data point to a structural shift in India's trade flows: refined petroleum products are now the primary driver of export growth to a widening list of destinations, from southern Europe to East Africa and Southeast Asia. The jump in value terms — Italy's rise from $2 million to $478 million, and Spain's 63-fold surge from $4 million to $252 million — reflects higher prices and a rise in oil product shipments through Indian refineries, according to Business-Today. With Singapore's oil product exports at $4.3 billion and Tanzania's at $2.2 billion, the new market map is concentrated in countries that previously sourced refined products elsewhere. The windfall tax remains a live policy tool, and any further escalation in West Asia could reshape these flows again.
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