Reliance Industries
has partially offloaded a jet ​fuel cargo in Italy,
India’s first export to the region since ‌a European Union ban on
products derived from Russian oil took ​effect on January 21,
data from ship trackers and trade sources showed.

India is one of the top buyers of Russian crude, and market
players are closely monitoring its refined oil exports to Europe
for signs of trade disruptions that could drive up prices for
supply from elsewhere.

The EU’s ban on importing products produced from Russian
crude is aimed at curbing oil revenues Moscow uses ​to fund the
Ukraine war.

Reliance operates two refineries at its Jamnagar complex –
one ⁠geared for exports and one for the domestic market. It said
on November 20 that it stopped processing Russian crude at its
export-oriented facility.

The Aframax tanker Liwa-V, chartered by Reliance, offloaded
about ​390,000 barrels of jet fuel, or ⁠around half its cargo, at
the Fiumicino port near Rome between February 1 and February 4,
Kpler, Vortexa and a trade source’s ship-tracking data showed.

The Liwa-V arrived in Italy around January 8 and waited
outside the port for ‌almost three weeks, the data showed. It was
originally scheduled to ‌unload the cargo by January 24, two
separate trade sources said.

“The discharge has been delayed due to bad weather, the ship
has ‍already discharged substantial amount of cargo and is
waiting outside the port to offload the cargo completely,” said
a Reliance Industries’ spokesperson.

Reliance segregates Russia-free fuel for European markets

As Western nations have sought to curtail their dependence
on Russian energy over the war in Ukraine, India has been able
to take advantage of Moscow’s discounted crude.

India exported 4.1 million metric tons of jet fuel to Europe
last year, nearly three times the volume it shipped in 2021
before the outbreak of the conflict, Kpler data showed, and it
supplied nearly 15% of Europe’s aviation fuel imports from 2022
to 2025.

Reliance told Reuters that it has been giving written
declarations to ⁠European buyers and traders that Russian crude
has not been used to produce fuels exported to Europe.

“Reliance maintains that segregation of diesel ​streams is
possible, and one would expect the company to explore
workarounds such as FOB (free-on-board) ⁠sales or blending
operations should European buyers remain cautious,” Sparta
Commodities’ analyst James Noel-Beswick said.

For January, only one other Indian jet fuel shipment on the
tanker Karpathos is bound for Europe, shipping data from Kpler,
LSEG and two trade sources showed.

Europe has yet to receive any diesel imports ⁠from India
since the ban started.

Published on February 5, 2026

India’s sunflower oil imports
are expected to drop around a tenth in 2025/26 ‍to a four-year
low as a growing price premium over ​rivals pushes buyers towards
cheaper alternatives, trade officials said.

As ‌a result, the world’s largest importer ​of vegetable oils
is likely to increase imports of palm oil, a shift that could
help reduce inventories in top producers Indonesia and Malaysia
and support benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures.

“With sunflower oil prices rising, India is now likely to
import only enough to meet its core ​demand of around
200,000–225,000 metric tonne per month,” ⁠said Aashish Acharya,
vice president at Patanjali Foods Ltd, a leading
importer of edible oils.

Crude sunflower oil from the Black Sea region is currently
being ​offered at about $1,420 a ⁠metric tonne on a cost, insurance
and freight basis for March delivery to India, compared with
around $1,165 for crude palm oil and $1,255 for crude soy oil.

Acharya and four ‌dealers with global trade houses estimated
that India’s ‌sunflower oil imports would drop to 2.65 million
tonne in the marketing year ending in October, ‍down from 2.94
million tonne a year earlier and marking the lowest level since
2021/22.

The dealers declined to be ‍named because they were not
authorised to speak to the media.

Russia and Ukraine account for more than two-thirds of
global sunflower oil exports, but adverse weather in both
countries tightened supplies and lifted prices in January to the
highest level in more than three years, said a New Delhi-based
dealer with a global trade house.

Argentina is offering sunflower ⁠oil at about $10 to $20 a
tonne cheaper than Black Sea supplies, following improved output,
providing some relief ​for Indian buyers, a dealer said.

Sunflower oil is mainly ⁠consumed in India’s southern States,
but consumers there are shifting towards palm oil, said a
Mumbai-based dealer.

The trend was reflected in India’s palm oil imports in
January, which jumped 51 per cent from December, while sunflower ⁠oil
imports fell 23 per cent, according to dealers’ estimates.

Published on February 5, 2026

K Satish Reddy, Chairman Dr Reddy’s Laboratories 

India should lead the world in promoting alternatives to animal testing in drug discovery and framing non-animal methodologies, K Satish Reddy, Chairman Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.

He was speaking at a press-conference to announce the findings of a report on Non-Animal Methodologies (NAMs) along with Alokparna Sengupta, Managing Director, Humane World for Animals India, Sarfaraz K Niazi, Adjunct Professor, University of Illinois, Chancellor, Chicago University, Chicago, Illinois, USA and others. 

Reddy said drug-discovery was a journey with new methodologies from time to time. Indian regulatory frame work should also be prepared in NAMs. The CDSCO has already began the journey and infrastructure and required staffing could be done going forward, he added. 

Citing the findings of the report, Alokparna Sengupta, Managing Director, Humane World for Animals India said a central non-animal methodology agency and validation centre with relevant data base should be established. It also recommended a multi-stakeholder consortium for collaboration from all stakeholders, setting up a centres of excellence for infrastructure, training and skilling.

Deepak Sapra, CEO-API & Services, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories major drug-makers in India including Dr Reddy’s were keen on adopting NAMs and is working along with other players includking Biocon, Cipla and Sun Pharma.

New technologies which are available now including organoids, computational tools, cardiac and liver models would help in the journey towards NAMs., he said adding: “Dr Reddy’s is actively integrating NAMs in the processes and will further push them,’’ he said. 

According to Niazi, generics, biologicals and biosimilars would not lead any animal testing. The adoption of NAMs would reduce cost of drug-development and would also save time, he said. 

However, animal testing cannot be avoided for chemical drugs and other new molecules at the moment and ways and means should be explored on this front..

Published on February 5, 2026