Turkey and Brazil remain the main importers of Russian seaborne diesel and gasoil since the European Union sanctions banned the import of Russian refined products, data from market sources and LSEG showed.

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

According to the LSEG data, Russia exported about 1.47 million metric tons of diesel and gasoil to Turkey in March after 1.2 million tons in the previous month.

Brazil’s imports from Russia fell last month to around 0.5 million tons, down from 0.63 million tons in February.

Traders said the drop was a result of a seasonal fall in demand and ample supplies of Russian fuel in the previous months.

Brazil also imported about 0.7 million tons of diesel from Algeria, Kuwait, Netherlands and USA in March after 0.45 million tons in February, LSEG data showed.

Diesel exports from Russian ports to African countries fell last month to 0.73 million tons from 0.84 million tons in February. Libya, Tunisia, Senegal, Ghana and Egypt were among top importers, according to the shipping data.

Meanwhile about 0.5 million tons of diesel loaded in March at Russia’s Baltic port of Primorsk still have no final destination.

In total, Russian seaborne diesel and gasoil export supplies fell in March by 4% from February to around 3.6 million tons, Reuters calculations based on LSEG and market sources data showed.

Source: Reuters reporting by Reuters and edited by Jason Neely