India imported 1.27 MT less coal in April-June 2023

India’s coal imports have dropped 1.82% to 68.3 million tonnes in Q1 2021 due to waning demand during monsoon season, according to a report by B2B e-commerce platform mjunction.

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In the current fiscal year’s April to June quarter, India’s total coal imports decreased 1.82 percent to 68.30 million tons. In the same period a year earlier, the import was 69.57 MT, according to the most recent report from mjunction. The imports included met coke, pet coke, pulverized coal injection (PCI) coal, anthracite coal, coking coal, and non-coking coal.

Non-coking coal imports during the period were 42.99 MT, compared to 47.44 MT during the same time the previous year, while coking coal imports were 15.89 MT, up from 14.61 MT. The import in June 2023 was roughly 21.03 MT, down 25.21% from the 28.11 MT imported in the same month the previous year.

India is one of the top five producers of coal worldwide. However, because the nation is also among the top consumers of dry fuel, some of its coal needs are satisfied through imports. The nation continues to be largely dependent on imports for coking coal, a crucial raw material used in the production of steel.

According to Vinaya Varma, MD & CEO of mjunction, despite the downturn in seaborne pricing, there was a decline in demand for imports at the start of the monsoon. Once the wet season is through and industrial activity picks up ahead of the holiday season, demand is anticipated to rebound.