Coal traffic (coking and non-coking) handled at Indian ports stood at 23.4 million tonnes (mnt) in November 2022, down by 0.5 mnt m-o-m, CoalMint data shows. Port traffic fell for the fifth consecutive month due to weak demand amid increased reliance on indigenous coal. This fall also came amid sluggish domestic steel demand in India, coupled with sufficient inventory build-up by Indian mills.
Port traffic refers to shipments via imports, exports, and coastal movement between different ports within India.
Thermal coal traffic handled at ports picked up slightly to 18.1 mnt against 17.6 mnt a month ago. Meanwhile, coking coal traffic dropped 15% to 5.4 mnt. This is because India’s thermal coal imports fell by 7% m-o-m to 11.2 million tonnes (mnt) in November. India’s coking coal imports fell by 19% m-o-m to 4 million tonnes (mnt) in November 2022, against 4.95 mnt in October, CoalMint’s data reveals.
India has been focusing on improving domestic coal supplies to achieve its FY23 target of 900 mnt of output. The country’s total coal production in November stood at 76 mnt, rising by 14% m-o-m and 12% y-o-y.
Key ports handling thermal coal
Qty in mnt
As per CoalMint data, the thermal coal traffic at Paradip Port was recorded at 4 mnt, followed by Krishnapatnam Port at 2 mnt and Ennore at 1.8 mnt. Port traffic at Gangavaram increased significantly to 0.9 mnt against 0.3 mnt in October 2022.
Coking coal traffic at major ports
Paradip recorded vessels at 1.1 mnt in November, followed by Dhamra at 0.95 mnt. Krishnapatnam Port’s coal handling recorded an increase to 0.5 mnt as against 0.26 mnt a month ago.
Port traffic up in Jan-Oct’22
Qty in mn t
Coal traffic at Indian ports rose by 19% y-o-y during January-November, 2022 with the maximum rise seen in thermal coal.
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