Rising commodity prices on account of the Russian invasion of Ukraine will hit Indian companies across a wide range of sectors such as paints, FMCG, packaging and electric vehicle batteries, analysts said.

Pharmaceutical companies such as Dr Reddy’s and Sun Pharma will be hit as Russia is among the top five export destinations for Indian firms.

Pharmaceutical exports to Russia grew 6.95 per cent last fiscal to nearly $591 million.

India exported over $181 million worth of pharmaceutical goods to Ukraine in FY21, a growth of 44 per cent over the previous year.

Dr Reddy’s earned Rs 470 crore from Russia in the nine months of the current fiscal, accounting for almost 9 per cent of its revenues.

A spokesperson for the Hyderabad-based company said it was monitoring the developments closely. The company said its top priority was to ensure the well-being of its staff apart from meeting patient needs.

The flare-up in oil prices could lead to higher input costs for companies in the FMCG, packaging and paints segments.

Udaya Bhaskar, director-general of the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India, said: “We have to wait for a few more days to get some clarity on the situation. Generally the pharma sector is exempted from sanction if one goes by the past experience of Iran and other countries.”

The conflict would sustain the rally in base metal prices such as aluminium especially if the US and EU impose more sanctions on Russia, Navneet Damani of Motilal Oswal Financial Services said. He said Russia produces 6 per cent of the world’s aluminium.

Russia mines 7 per cent of the world's nickel which is used in batteries for electric vehicles and stainless steel. Damani said the two items would feel the impact of rising prices.

According to a note from Kedia Advisory, India is not very dependent on Russian oil and gas. The impact of the conflict will be felt in some food items globally, it said.

Prof Gulshan Sachdeva, Centre for European Studies, JNU said since “we import a large part of our sunflower oil from Ukraine, there could be supply disruptions”.

“Ukraine is the fifth largest exporter of iron ore globally, and has 20 per cent market share in the global titanium market. This could have an impact on global commodities prices," associate professor Amitabh Singh, Centre for Russian and Central Asian Studies, said.