Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: TAIWAN has become the world’s biggest importer of Russian naphtha, a petroleum derivative used to make chemicals needed for the semiconductor industry, despite the fact that it has joined other sanctions against Russia and considers itself an ally of Ukraine.
In the first half of 2025, Taiwan imported $1.3bn worth of Russian naphtha, and average monthly imports reached a level nearly six times higher than the 2022 average, according to a report published on September 30. Compared to the first half of 2024, Taiwan’s naphtha imports this year increased by 44%. Taiwan has elsewhere been reiterating its support for Ukraine in the war with Russia. On September 28, Taiwan’s foreign minister, Lin Chialung, signed a pact in Poland to provide support for children in Ukraine affected by Russia’s invasion.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Taiwan joined international sanctions against Moscow. It has also imposed export controls to prevent the island’s hi-tech equipment from being used by Russia’s military. But Moscow’s ability to continue with the war is funded in part by energy exports, with billions of dollars coming from Taiwan.
Since February 2022, Taiwan has imported 6.8m tonnes of Russian naphtha, worth $4.9bn, which is equal to 20% of Russia’s total exports of the petroleum product. The US president, Donald Trump, has urged countries to stop buying Russian oil.
The findings come from a report published by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, a Finnish thinktank, in collaboration with a consortium of European, Russian and Taiwanese NGOs, according to The Guardian.