- US emerges as top exporter with 8.2 mnt
- Ultratech Cement leads among importers
India’s total pet coke imports in FY’25 rose 24.6% to 16.2 million tonnes (mnt) from 13 mnt in FY’24, supported by strong cement sector demand and higher reliance on imported material amid tighter domestic availability.
Additionally, imports in March 2025 stood at 1.3 mnt in March 2025, down slightly from 1.4 mnt in February.
US remains top supplier
The US was the leading source of India’s pet coke imports in FY’25, supplying 8.2 mnt – up 15.5% y-o-y. Meanwhile, imports from Saudi Arabia rose by 29.6% to 3.5 mnt.
Ultratech, Reliance lead importers
Ultratech Cement was the largest importer in FY’25 with 4.2 mnt, up 75% from FY’24. Ambuja Cement followed, with 0.9 mnt (+80%), while Reliance Cement imported 0.8 mnt (+14.3%). Reliance ramped up purchases to run its gasification units, sourcing pet coke via multiple modes – its own production, imports, and procurement from Indian refiners such as IOCL. Shree Cement and Dalmia Cement also contributed to the import tally, though Shree’s imports declined 33.3% y-o-y.
Key ports see strong growth
Among the major unloading ports, Kandla handled 3.9 mnt in FY’25, up 44.4% y-o-y. Visakhapatnam saw the sharpest rise at 2.9 mnt, up 81.3%. Mundra, however, saw a 40% decline in volumes. Overall, import activity remained concentrated along the west and east coasts, led by increased offtake in cement industry-dominant regions.
Prices soften y-o-y, supply glut emerges in recent weeks
Average landed prices of US pet coke in FY25 declined to $109/t CNF Vizag and $107/t CNF Kandla, from $126/t and $123/t, respectively, in FY’24.
In recent weeks, CFR offers have fallen by $2-3/t due to the rising availability of US material. West coast prices touched $115-116/t, and east coast rates slipped to $116-118/t. Buyers continued negotiating aggressively, as Saudi-origin supplies remained expensive due to tighter availability.
Supportive factors in India’s cement sector
As per recent reports, Dalmia Bharat Ltd (DBL), the country’s ffourth-largestcement producer, announced that it has achieved a production capacity of 49.5 mnt pa in FY’25. The Dalmia family-promoted company achieved this target after the commencement of commercial production of an additional 0.5 mnt pa at its Rohtas Cement Works (RCW) plant in Bihar.
Outlook
India’s pet coke imports are expected to stay strong due to firm demand from the cement sector and continued supply tightness at domestic refineries. However, future volumes may hinge on price sensitivity. While global supply diversions, especially from the US, have benefited India, any recovery in Chinese demand or pricing uptrend may influence Indian importers buying appetite.
The surge in US supply is largely attributed to China’s tariffs on US pet coke, which led to volumes being diverted to India. This diversion increased availability and softened prices, making US-origin material more attractive to Indian buyers. In contrast, Saudi-origin cargoes remained costly due to continued Chinese demand.
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