Indian Coking Coal Imports rise by 15% in FY15

India’s Coking coal imports jumped in FY15 as Crude steel production rose and new Coke plants were commissioned by Steel manufacturers.

In line with surged Indian coal imports, the country has imported about 45 MnT of Coking coal in FY15. Coking coal, a key fuel in Steel making, imports have increased by 15% owing to increase in crude steel production and commissioning of new Coke oven capacities by Tata Steel and SAIL in the last fiscal. Total Coking coal import was about 39 MnT during FY14.

Country’s Coking coal imports showed a continuous upward movement from Oct’14-Mar’15. As per SteelMint data analysis, major Coking coal exporters in FY15 were Australia, South Africa and Mozambique, who supplied about 38 MnT, 2.4 MnT and 1.2 MnT respectively.

Australia, the largest Coking coal exporter across the globe, fulfills about 80% of India’s Coking coal requirement yearly. Total Coking coal supply from Australia to India increased about 20% owing to poor performance by Chinese Steel industry and decrease in coking coal import by China. Presently, market is quiet with heavy competition.

Top Coking Coal Importers In India

In India, companies like SAIL, JSW Steel, Tata Steel and RINL import huge quantities and play the most decisive role in Coking coal imports as well as Crude steel production of the country. These companies imported about 12.5 MnT, 8.7 MnT, 6.2 MnT and 3.5 MnT Coking coal respectively in FY15.

Quantity In MnT
Source: SteelMint & JPC

Rise in Imports largely attributed by SAIL & Tata Steel

Country’s steel giants, SAIL and Tata Steel were the largest contributors to increased imports. Both the companies had introduced new Coke oven plants in last fiscal, which might be a major reason behind their increased Coking coal imports. SAIL & Tata Steel’s Coking coal imports have increased by about 12.6% and 38% respectively in FY15.

SAIL’s import has risen with commencement of a 0.88 MnT Coke oven plant in Bhilai (Chhattisgarh). In Apr’14, Tata Steel had introduced 0.7 MnT Coke oven battery at its Jamshedpur unit. Moreover, the company has reduced Met coke purchase from the international market. On the other hand SAIL & Tata Steel’s Crude steel productions have increased around 2-3% in FY15.

In the recent budget introduced by Indian Ministry, import duty on Met Coke was doubled to 5% from 2.5% in FY14.

Indian Crude steel production
Indian Crude steel production rose to 84-85 MnT in FY15 against 81.5 MnT in FY14. SAIL continues to remain the largest producer followed by JSW Steel and Tata Steel.