Now Reading: India’s coal imports shift towards steel as coking demand rises
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India’s coal imports shift towards steel as coking demand rises
India’s coal imports shift towards steel as coking demand rises
India imported 244.2 million tonnes of non-coking and metallurgical coal in FY2025-26, little changed from 245.3 million tonnes a year earlier, but the mix shifted sharply towards steelmaking. Coking coal imports rose…
The Story in Brief
India imported 244.2 million tonnes of non-coking and metallurgical coal in FY2025-26, little changed from 245.3 million tonnes a year earlier, but the mix shifted sharply towards steelmaking. Coking coal imports rose 12.4% to 63.7 million tonnes, while pulverised coal injection coal increased 6.2% to 20.9 million tonnes. Total metallurgical coal imports reached 84.5 million tonnes, up 10.4%.
Non-coking coal imports fell 5.5% to 159.7 million tonnes as domestic availability improved and power-sector dependence on imports eased. The Hindu BusinessLine, citing an MCX report, said Russia’s coal shipments rose 13.1% to 32 million tonnes. Australia remained the leading source of premium coking coal, with shipments rising 13.4% to 34.3 million tonnes. Import trends may now track steel output more closely than electricity demand.
The Indian Opinion
The lazy reading is that India’s coal dependence is simply rising, while the opposite claim is that domestic supply has solved the problem. Neither fits the data. Overall imports were broadly flat, thermal coal imports declined, and steelmakers bought more specialised coal that domestic mines cannot fully replace on quality. Russia’s growing share also reflects supplier diversification, not necessarily a permanent shift. The useful test is whether future steel production growth pushes metallurgical imports higher while non-coking volumes keep falling.
Source: thehindubusinessline.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
