Turkey and Brazil last year became the biggest importers of Russian seaborne diesel and gasoil after European Union sanctions barring the import of Russian refined products took effect, data from market sources and LSEG showed.

Before the full EU embargo was implemented in February 2023, Europe was Russia’s biggest buyer.

Traders have since diverted diesel cargoes from Russian ports to Brazil, Turkey, countries in Africa, Asia, Middle East and ship-to-ship (STS) loadings.

According to the LSEG data, Russia last year exported about 13.5 million metric tons of diesel and gasoil to Turkey, up from 5 million tons in 2022. It was unclear how much of this stayed in Turkey as opposed to being shipped onwards to other destinations.

Shipments of diesel from Russian ports to Brazil totalled about 6.5 million tons in 2023 compared with 74,000 tons in 2022.

Turkey remained the biggest buyer of Russian diesel and gasoil in the first month of this year, receiving more than 1.5 million tons, LSEG data shows.

Brazil’s imports from Russia fell in January, however, to around 460,000 tons, down from 1 million tons in December 2023. Traders said the drop was a result of a seasonal fall in demand and supplies.

Last year, Russia also exported about 1.9 million tons of diesel to Saudi Arabia and nearly 1.6 million tons to United Arab Emirates, shipping data showed.

Diesel exports from Russian ports to African countries also increased last year, reaching 10.2 million tons compared with 2.4 million tons in 2022. Morocco, Libya, Togo, Tunisia and Ghana were among top importers.

In January this year, diesel supplies from Russian ports to African countries totalled about 0.8 million tons, LSEG data showed.

Source: Reuters reported by Reuters and edited by Barbara Lewis