Table of Contents
Which Key Countries Lead Petroleum Imports By Country in 2025?
According to TradeInt's petroleum import trade data, India's $224.40B in petroleum imports, 18.03% of the total tracked global value, placed it at the top of the global rankings in 2025. Mexico came second at $171.24B (13.76%), a counterintuitive position for a crude-producing nation, explained by PEMEX's chronic refining deficit, which forces the re-import of US-processed gasoline and diesel. Vietnam's $73.15B (5.88%) outranked both China Mainland ($60.74B, 4.88%) and the United States ($54.03B, 4.34%); a result of Vietnam's manufacturing expansion outpacing its domestic refining capacity at a pace. Italy ($35.61B, 2.86%) rounded out the top six as a Mediterranean gateway for crude processing and re-export to European neighbors.
Together, these six countries represented approximately 49.75% of the tracked global petroleum import value.
- India | $224.40B | 18.03%
- Mexico | $171.24B | 13.76%
- Vietnam | $73.15B | 5.88%
- China Mainland | $60.74B | 4.88%
- United States | $54.03B | 4.34%
- Italy | $35.61B | 2.86%
📊 TradeInt Petroleum Trade Insights
According to TradeInt's global trade data, India dominated petroleum imports by country with $224.40B (18.03% global share), followed by Mexico at $171.24B (13.76%) and Vietnam at $73.15B (5.88%).
Petroleum Imports by Country Rankings Insights 2025
The APAC bloc's concentration at the top — India, Vietnam, and China collectively importing over $358B — reflects structurally growing energy deficits in fast-industrializing economies. India's crude import volumes rose from 4,500 kb/d in 2023 to 4,800 kb/d in 2024, a 6.7% expansion that is directionally consistent with the $224.40B import value recorded in 2025. Mexico's second-place rank, meanwhile, suggests that the US–Mexico refined-product corridor is one of the most consequential bilateral petroleum trade relationships on earth, with US suppliers accounting for 91.63% of Mexico's total petroleum sourcing.
📊Related Petroleum Trade Intelligence Insights
According to the TradeInt crude oil trade dataset (2025), fluctuations in Iran’s export volumes directly affect global petroleum imports, given its strategic position in global oil supply chains.
Read: Iran Oil Exports by Year YoY Analysis 2024-2025: Data Report
Petroleum Imports By Country: HS Code Breakdown for Key Nations
Across all five major importers, HS 2709 (crude) and HS 2710 (refined oils) consistently account for 80–85% of total petroleum import value. That pattern holds, regardless of whether a country is a crude producer or a pure importer; the split between crude and refined feedstocks within that 80–85% range is where import structure diverges most sharply between nations.
| Country | Key 4-digit HS Code | Product Description | Import Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | HS 2709 | Crude petroleum oils | $170.87B |
| HS 2711 | Petroleum gases (LNG / LPG) | $31.68B | |
| HS 2710 | Petroleum oils, not crude | $19.83B | |
| HS 2713 | Petroleum coke & bitumen | $3.31B | |
| Mexico | HS 2710 (light) | Motor spirit / gasoline | $90.87B |
| HS 2710 (heavy) | Gas oils, heavy distillates | $49.62B | |
| HS 2711 | Natural gas (pipeline) | $14.88B | |
| HS 2713 | Petroleum bitumen / coke | $3.20B | |
| Vietnam | HS 2709 | Crude petroleum oils | $33.92B |
| HS 2710 | Gas oils / lubricants | $7.15B | |
| HS 2711 | LPG / propane / butane | $3.83B | |
| HS 2713 | Petroleum bitumen | $650.91M | |
| China Mainland | HS 2709 | Crude petroleum oils | $33.92B |
| HS 2710 | Petroleum oils, not crude | $15.19B | |
| HS 2711 | Petroleum gases (LNG / LPG) | $7.29B | |
| HS 2713 | Petroleum coke & bitumen | $4.34B | |
| United States | HS 2710 | Specialty refined grades | $27.02B |
| HS 2709 | Heavy crude oils | $16.21B | |
| HS 2713 | Petroleum bitumen & asphalt | $8.10B | |
| HS 2711 | LPG | $2.70B |
📊 Related Petroleum Trade Intelligence Insights
Over 60% of global petroleum imports originate from the top crude oil producers in 2025.
Read: Who is the Largest Crude Oil Producer in 2025?
Petroleum Imports by Country HS Code Breakdown Insights 2025
1. Crude vs. Refined Split
- India & China are crude-dominant — HS 2709 accounts for 77.80% and ~55.8% of their baskets respectively, feeding large domestic refinery networks
- Mexico and the US flip the pattern — both lead with HS 2710 refined products, driven by PEMEX infrastructure gaps (Mexico) and specialty grade sourcing (US)
- Vietnam sits in between, a 38.22% crude / 35.94% refined split reflecting partial domestic refining capacity still catching up to demand
2. Mexico's Structural Anomaly
- 82% refined product imports despite being a crude producer — PEMEX's downstream underinvestment has turned Mexico into a re-import market for US-processed fuel
- 91.63% single-supplier dependency — the highest supply concentration of any top-five importer, creating outsized trade disruption risk
3. HS 2711 (Petroleum Gases) — The Hidden Growth Layer
- India ($31.68B) — domestic gas deficit feeding cooking fuel, power, and fertilizer sectors
- Vietnam ($3.83B) — rising household LPG demand plus early-stage petrochemical growth
- China (~$7.29B) — coal-to-gas substitution policy driving LNG growth; volume likely to expand
4. HS 2713 (Bitumen & Coke) — Infrastructure Proxy
- Consistent across all five nations — where HS 2713 share is rising, infrastructure capex is typically following
- US at ~$8.10B (~15%) — disproportionately large share, reflecting aging road resurfacing demand on a national scale
5. Supplier Concentration Risk
- India — most diversified — Russia (25.61%), UAE (16.99%), Iraq (15.57%)
- Vietnam — moderate — Kuwait (30.72%), Singapore (15.73%), South Korea (11.48%)
- Mexico & China — highest risk — 91.63% and 95.24% single-corridor concentration, respectively
6. Scale Gap: India vs. The Field
- India's basket is 3×+ Vietnam's and 4×+ China's tracked value — a 5% shift in India's crude programme alone moves ~$11.22B in trade value
- India + Mexico hold 31.79% of global tracked imports — supply disruptions in either market carry outsized ripple effects globally
📊 Related Petroleum Trade Intelligence Insights
According to TradeInt crude oil export data, the top 5 crude oil exporters account for over 50% of global oil supply, directly shaping petroleum import flows worldwide.
Read: Top 10 Crude Oil Exporting Countries 2025 by Production: Data Analysis
3 Key Global Regional Petroleum Imports by Region 2025
| Rank | Region | Key Countries Included | Total Import Value | Regional Share % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Asia-Pacific (APAC) | India, Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Bangladesh, Thailand, Japan | ~$511.00B | ~33.8% |
| 2 | Americas | Mexico, USA, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Panama, Argentina, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Paraguay | ~$392.00B | ~26.0% |
| 3 | Europe / MEA / CIS | Italy, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Netherlands, Côte d'Ivoire, Ukraine, UAE, Spain, France, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa | ~$212.00B | ~14.0% |
Global Petroleum Import Trends: QoQ and YoY Comparison
Q2 2025 petroleum imports peaked at $452.95B (+8.28% QoQ), driven by April demand surges and pre-summer industrial restocking cycles. A sharp correction then followed: Q3 2025 dropped to $320.49B, a -29.25% QoQ decline of -$132.46B in a single quarter as oil prices softened and demand in major importing markets pulled back. Q4 2025 stabilized at $318.49B (-0.62% QoQ), with December showing partial recovery before the year closed.
- Q1 2025 — Jan–Mar 2025 | $418.32B | — | 692,966 shipments
- Q2 2025 — Apr–Jun 2025 | $452.95B | +8.28% QoQ | 731,047 shipments
- Q3 2025 — Jul–Sep 2025 | $320.49B | −29.25% QoQ | 736,649 shipments
- Q4 2025 — Oct–Dec 2025 | $318.49B | −0.62% QoQ | 694,984 shipments
- Q1 2026* — Jan–Mar 2026 | $185.03B* | −41.90% QoQ* | 413,916 shipments*
*Q1 2026 note: January and February are fully captured. March 2026 reflects only ~12% of the expected shipment volume and should be treated as preliminary.
The IEA has flagged that the implied global oil market overhang for 2026 has grown to nearly 4 mb/d, suggesting price deflation may account for a meaningful share of the value decline even if physical import volumes remain more resilient.
📊 TradeInt Petroleum Import Trade Insights
The January–February 2026 comparison against the same period in 2025 registers a −33.2% YoY decline in import value, the most significant early-year signal in the dataset.
Global Petroleum Import Quarterly Trend Insights 2025
The Q3 2025 correction of -$132.46B in a single quarter stands as the sharpest contraction in the annual dataset and points to a pricing-driven pullback rather than a structural demand collapse — given that Q3 shipment counts (736,649) were actually the highest of any quarter in 2025. The near-identical Q3 and Q4 import values ($320.49B vs. $318.49B) suggest that global petroleum trade found a structural floor, likely anchored by inventory restocking minimums in the APAC bloc. Looking ahead, the IEA's Oil 2025 report projects demand growth of just 830 kb/d in 2025 against a supply-side expansion of 3 mb/d, a fundamental imbalance that the Q3 correction may have already begun pricing ahead of a broader 2026 surplus.
Conclusion
According to TradeInt's global petroleum trade data, 2025 delivered headline stability for global petroleum trade but masked extreme intra-year volatility and increasingly divergent country-level dynamics. India led petroleum imports by country at $224.40B (18.03%), with crude petroleum (HS 2709) representing 77.80% of its basket; the highest crude concentration among the top five. Mexico's $171.24B was shaped almost entirely by a refining infrastructure gap, with 82% of imports falling under HS 2710 and a single supplier, the United States, accounting for 91.63% of sourcing. Vietnam's third-place rank at $73.15B reflects a manufacturing-driven import model that is likely to sustain growth through mid-decade.
The Q3 2025 correction of -29.25% QoQ and the Jan–Feb 2026 YoY decline of -33.2% together point toward price deflation as a dominant force entering 2026, aligned with the IEA's December 2025 assessment of OPEC+ supply additions averaging 1.4 mb/d against tepid demand growth. For any analyst tracking petroleum imports by country, the 2026 outlook favors volume tracking over value as the more reliable demand signal.


