Last year, diesel fuel imports from Russia to Brazil increased 46 times in monetary terms compared to the previous year, reaching 4.5 billion dollars. Finance Times Based on data from the Brazilian government.
In addition, according to government data, fuel purchases increased 400 times to 5.3 billion dollars. While Brazil imported 6.1 million tons of diesel fuel from the Russian Federation in 2023, this figure was 101 thousand tons the previous year. Thus, Russia overtook the United States and Brazil became the largest supplier of this type of fuel, the publication writes.
According to Oliver Stünkel, professor of international relations at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, the increase in volumes is due to the fact that Russian energy resources can be purchased at a discount due to Western sanctions. However, the newspaper stated that such materials did not violate the sanctions regime.
The Brazilian government said the increase in imports helped keep fuel prices low for the population. However, critics believe that the country has shown special sympathy for the Russian Federation in the face of the situation in Ukraine.
Fuel imports are vital for Brazil, where approximately 60% of cargo is transported by road. That is why the authorities are trying to guarantee stable supplies of diesel fuel, despite the foreign policy context, the publication writes.
Before that, it was known that Russia exported to Brazil reached record.
Previously Russia came One of the top 10 suppliers of petroleum products to Indonesia.