India's coal import rises 30 per cent to 22 million tonnes in April

PTI Updated - June 27, 2021 at 02:13 PM.

A coal excavator loading coal at one of Macarthur Coal's mines in Queensland is seen in this undated photograph obtained April 9, 2010. Australian miner New Hope Corp made a surprise $3.5 billion offer for rival Macarthur Coal, topping an earlier U.S. bid and fuelling talk that others may chase the world's leading exporter of a cleaner coal sought after by steelmakers. REUTERS/Macarthur Coal/Handout (AUSTRALIA - Tags: ENERGY BUSINESS) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS

India's coal import rose 30.3 per cent to 22.27 million tonnes in April amid supply concerns and demand for pre-monsoon restocking of dry fuel.

The country had imported 17.09 million tonnes of coal in April last year, according to a provisional compilation by mjunction services, based on monitoring of vessels' positions and data received from shipping companies.

"India's coal and coke imports in April 2021 through the major and non-major ports are estimated to have increased by 30.3 per cent over April 2020. Imports in April 2021 stood at around 22.27 million tonnes (MT) as against 17.09 MT imported in April 2020," it said.

"The demand for pre-monsoon restocking and supply concerns led to a surge in coal import during the month under review. Recently, tightened supply in overseas markets have firmed up prices. This factor coupled with the onset of monsoon is expected to keep the volumes in check in the near term," Vinaya Varma, MD & CEO, mjunction services Ltd, said.

mjunction -- a joint venture between Tata Steel and SAIL -- is a B2B e-commerce company and also publishes research reports on coal and steel verticals.

Of the total imports in April, the volume of non-coking coal was 15.32 MT, against 12.28 MT imported in April last financial year. Coking coal volume was 4.74 MT, up against 3.23 MT imported in April last fiscal.

During the 2020-21, total coal and coke imports stood at 215.92 MT, about 12.6 per cent lower than 247.10 MT imported during FY'20.

Published on June 27, 2021 07:55
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