A total of 2.8 million tonnes (mnt) of imported thermal coal is set to arrive at various Indian ports between 24 May-21 June, 2022, CoalMint’ vessel line-up data showed.
Out of this, the highest shipments will come from Indonesia at a total of 1.50 mnt. This volume is being brought in by power companies such as Semb Corp Gayathri Power, Tata Power, and trading firms such as Agarwal Coal, Adani Enterprise etc.
With Indonesian coal prices remaining stable over the last three weeks, procurement demand by Indian buyers has risen sharply as they focused on securing supplies before the monsoon.
A domestic coal supply crunch has compelled the government to direct power plants to use coal blended with up to 30% imported content till March next year, making a U-turn from its previous stance of reducing coal imports.
Low-to-mid CV Indonesian grades are the most preferable option used by imported coal-based power plants in the country, besides Australian coal. However, the more than 100% rise in prices on a y-o-y basis largely kept these units from importing coal last year.
Shipments from other origin
Vessels laden with 0.5 mnt of coal will arrive from South Africa, with Rashmi Group set to bring the highest shipment of 0.2 mnt, followed by ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel at 0.1 mnt, CoalMint data showed.
JSW Energy and JSW Steel, on the other hand, are set to bring 0.1 mnt of Australian coal in the upcoming week.
Ultratech Cement is set to bring 0.13 mnt of US coal in a bid to build inventory ahead of the monsoon.
A total of 0.15 mnt of Russian coal is set to arrive for domestic steelmakers such as JSW Steel, Kalyani Steel, and Jai Balaji.
Receiver-wise thermal coal stock at ports
*Qty in mnt
Thermal coal stocks of Adani Enterprise continue to remain the highest, rising by 3% w-o-w. The major portion of the shipments, at 1.8 mnt, are anchored at Mundra Port, followed by Gangavaram with 0.9 mnt, and Navlakhi Port with 0.7 mnt, among others.
Thermal coal stock of Swiss Singapore has risen the most, by 28% w-o-w, following the arrival of Indonesian coal earlier this month at Kandla Port.
Short-term outlook
Amid the sharp rise in power demand in the country but constrained coal supply scenarios at major exporting destinations, thermal coal imports are likely to remain high. However, elevated prices may act as a dampener.
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