In August, the St. Petersburg Exchange sold four times less Belarusian fuel than a month earlier — 26,000 tonnes versus 105,700 tonnes. These data are contained in a review by the National Exchange Price Agency, reviewed by [**Kommersant**](https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/8922722).

The decline in exchange sales came amid an overall reduction in rail supplies from the neighboring republic. Over the first 20 days of August, Russia received 118,200 tonnes of gasoline, compared with 206,900 tonnes in July, according to calculations by the Center for Price Indices.

Meanwhile, seaborne gasoline imports into Russia rose to a record 125,000 barrels per day in the final month of summer, reaching 470,000 tonnes, according to Vortexa data. The fuel is being supplied from India, Turkey and Morocco.

Since the start of the fuel crisis, Belarus has increased gasoline supplies to Russia, a Kommersant source says. According to the source, from June to August 26, Belarusian refiners shipped more than 570,000 tonnes of this fuel to Russia — almost twice as much as in the first five months of the year.

However, these volumes are the limit of rail route capacity. Further growth in supplies is possible only through seaborne cargoes.

In September, the situation may shift even further in favor of seaborne imports. The Novopolotsk refinery Naftan is planning to halt production for maintenance, which will inevitably reduce Belarusian exports, says Sergey Frolov, Managing Partner at NEFT Research. At the same time, Russia is expected to see a gradual recovery in its own refining after plant maintenance and a decline in seasonal demand, which will reduce the overall need for imported fuel.