中文
India's coking coal imports reached a five-year high of 38.14 million tonnes during April-November of the current fiscal year, which slightly surpassed the nearly 38.12 million tonnes recorded last year, local media reported.
The upsurge in demand for coking coal in the domestic market is primarily propelled by robust steel demand.
While Australia remains the dominant supplier, accounting for 60% of shipments, its market share has declined from a substantial 75% five years ago. Indian steel producers are diversifying their sources by increasingly turning to Russia and the US for this crucial steelmaking material.
Over the past five years, coking coal intakes from Russia and the US have more than doubled. Russian coking coal supplies have witnessed a significant surge over the past five years, with an impressive 123% increase since FY2020, while imports from the US jumped nearly 200% during the same period.
Russia has now become the third-largest supplier, replacing countries such as Canada and Mozambique.
Despite being the world's second-largest producer of crude steel after China, India faces a shortage in domestic coking coal supplies and heavily relies on imports, making it the largest importer of coking coal.
To address the price volatility resulting from dependency on a single country, particularly Australia, Indian steelmakers are actively exploring alternative sources.
India is also venturing into sourcing coking coal from other countries like Poland and New Zealand, although in smaller quantities. Explorations are underway to tap into Mongolia's coal reserves, contingent upon infrastructure development and establishing efficient supply lines.
This boosted demand for coking coal aligns with an increase in steel production within the Indian market.
Finished steel production rose by 13% year on year to 88.9 million tonnes in the first eight months of this fiscal, while consumption escalated by 15% to 87 million tonnes. Crude steel production also surged 15% on the year to 94 million tonnes, with pig iron and hot metal production up by 19% and 8%, respectively.
(Writing by Riley Liang Editing by Emma Yang)
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