Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev, who oversees agriculture and Agro products, is expected to visit New Delhi this month with a dual focus: strengthening fertiliser exports to India and opening Russia as a major destination for Indian shrimp. His trip carries both trade and geopolitical dimensions, given the current strain in Russia–West relations and the pressure India faces over continued imports of Russian products.
India has emerged as one of the largest buyers of Russian fertilisers after Western sanctions disrupted Moscow’s traditional markets.
Fertiliser imports from Russia, crucial for India’s vast agricultural sector, have helped secure supply chains and keep costs in check. Patrushev’s visit is aimed at consolidating and expanding these flows, ensuring long-term supply stability at negotiated prices, which is considered strategically important for India’s food security.
The shrimp trade forms another highlight of this trip. India currently dominates the US market as its top shrimp supplier, contributing billions of dollars in exports each year. However, punitive tariffs from Washington—ranging from countervailing duties to anti-dumping measures—have raised the all-inclusive levy on Indian shrimp imports to nearly 58%. This has sharply dented India’s competitiveness, offering rivals like Ecuador, Indonesia, Vietnam, and China an advantage in the lucrative American market.
Against this backdrop, Russia is being considered an emerging and alternative market. With US barriers restricting growth, Indian exporters see Moscow as a potential relief valve that can absorb excess supply and stabilise the country’s seafood export earnings. Patrushev’s negotiations are expected to identify regulatory frameworks, phytosanitary conditions, and logistics routes to scale up shrimp exports into Russia.
The trade focus also reflects a wider strategy to balance India–Russia economic ties. By extending cooperation beyond crude oil and defence, both sides are signalling intent to strengthen commercial engagement in food, fertiliser, and fisheries.
This trajectory fits into the broader pattern of diversification as Russia turns to Asian partners in response to Western sanctions, while India simultaneously seeks new markets for its exporters facing tariff shocks in the West.
Patrushev, son of former Russian NSA Nikolay Patrushev, brings to the table a decade of experience in agricultural policy. His meetings with Indian cabinet ministers are expected to draw up a roadmap for sustained Agro-trade cooperation, with fertiliser and shrimp positioned as flagship sectors in an evolving economic partnership.
Based On ET News Report
