Australia has provided assurance to India of maintaining a steady supply of coking coal, alleviating concerns stemming from shortages and soaring prices in the domestic steel industry.
According to a report by ETEnergyWorld, Nagendra Nath Sinha, the top official at India's Ministry of Steel, held discussions with Philip Green, Australia's high commissioner to India, addressing matters including coking coal supplies and the decarbonization initiatives of Indian steel companies.
With Australia contributing more than half of India's coking coal imports, estimated at around 70 million tonnes from the world annually, the assurance is welcomed as a strategic move to ensure stability in the supply chain.
The move comes amid a surge in raw material prices over the past month, impacting India's domestic steel production.
The challenges faced by Indian steel mills include competing global demand and weather-related disruptions in Australia, prompting Indian steel producers to explore alternative sources, such as Russia, where prices are perceived to be more favorable.
However, the dependency on Australia remains crucial, particularly for specific grades of coking coal favored by major Indian producers.
Australia, Russia, and the United States are among the key coking coal suppliers to India. The surge in prices of Australian coking coal last month was attributed to factors such as maintenance outages, lower-than-usual supplies from Queensland, and delays in the train network.
(Writing by Alex Guo Editing by Harry Huo)
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