Amid elevated global prices over the last few months, pet coke demand continues to remain under pressure, falling by 4% m-o-m to 1.34 mnt in March 2022, CoalMint data showed.
On cumulative basis, consumption volumes dropped by 10% y-o-y to 14.10 mn t in FY22 (April 2021-March 2022).
However, in March, a sharp fall in demand was also limited amid improved procurement by cement companies. Cement manufacturers, tend to procure pet coke ahead of the monsoon season in order to avoid moisture.
Elevated raw material prices since 2021, however, had weighed on their profitability, bringing down capacity utilisation to a great extent.
In line with imported prices, major domestic refineries also hiked their prices over the last few months. Pet coke prices of Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RIL’s) increased by INR 3,844/t m-o-m to INR 21,816/t for April 2022.
Pet coke prices of major domestic refineries
*Price in INR/t
The Directorate-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry allowed the import of pet coke by only select industries such as cement, lime kiln, calcium carbide and gasification.
Further, the annual quota for raw petroleum coke was fixed at 1.4 mnt, for manufacturing calcined petroleum coke and imports at 0.5 mnt, thus, limiting the overall import quantity.
Short-term outlook
The ongoing peak season of cement manufacturing ahead of the monsoon season is likely to support pet coke demand. However, any major rise in demand is less likely due to elevated prices.
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