India: Coking coal imports rise 5% y-o-y in CY'24 on higher steel output

• Australia's shipments drop, Russia's nearly double
  
  
• SAIL leads in imports, Paradip sees highest arrivals
  
  

India's coking coal imports totalled 57.4 million tonnes (mnt) in CY'24, marking a 5% increase from 54.7 mnt in CY'23, as per provisional data maintained with BigMint.

The increase comes amid higher domestic crude steel production and demand in CY'24. As per provisional data, crude steel output in CY'24 is expected to touch 148 mnt, an increase of 6% y-o-y, while production in CY'23 had risen by 13%. Likewise, domestic demand for steel showed steady growth at around 9% y-o-y, compared with over 13-14% seen in CY'23.

The continued rise in India's crude steel production and demand boosted the country's coking coal imports in CY'24.

Imports from Australia drop, from Russia surge

The overall increase in import volume reflects growing demand from India's steel sector and was led by notable shifts in supply from exporting countries such as Russia and Australia.

Australia remained the primary supplier, though shipments declined to 31.3 mnt in CY'24 from 33.9 mnt in CY'23. Imports from the US increased marginally to 8.3 mnt in CY'24 from 8.0 mnt in the preceding year, while Russian shipments nearly doubled to 7.4 mnt in CY'24.

Increased diversification in import sources, such as sourcing material from Russia, resulted in reduced imports from Australia.

Leading receivers

Among Indian importers, SAIL topped the list, with 14.4 mnt in CY'24, stable compared to 14.5 mnt in CY'23. JSW Steel imported 12.2 mnt, up from 11.5 mnt in CY'23, and Tata Steel increased its imports to 9.4 mnt from 8.6 mnt in CY'23.

Port-wise performance

On the east coast, Paradip handled 12.2 mnt in CY'24, compared to 10.3 mnt in CY'23. Dhamra saw a significant rise to 8.3 mnt from 6.8 mnt in CY'23, while Haldia registered 7.9 mnt in CY'24, down from 8.4 mnt in the previous year. Gangavaram's imports declined to 6.5 mnt from 6.7 mnt. On the west coast, Vizag's imports rose to 5.3 mnt in CY'24 from 5.1 mnt in CY'23.

Outlook

India's coking coal imports are expected to rise in CY'25, driven by increased crude steel production and reliance on the blast furnace (BF) route. Higher capacity utilisation by major steelmakers will sustain demand for imported coking coal.