Met Coke Imports in India Up Around 3% in Apr’17 M-o-M

Met Coke imports in India in Apr’17 were slightly higher by 3.2% than that in Mar’17.

According to data collected by CoalMint Research, around 0.32 MnT of Met Coke was imported into India in Apr’17 and that marginally overtook the imports into the country in Mar’17 at 0.31 MnT.

Source: CoalMint Research

On a year-on-year comparison, the imports during Apr’17 were lower by 17.9% against that of 0.39 MnT in Apr’16.

Met Coke imports in the country have not yet gained significant momentum this year as there was no uptick in demand. As the steel sector is undergoing a slowdown, demand for Met Coke has remained muted in the country. However, with the expected increase in steel production in the near future, demand for Met Coke in the country is also speculated to strengthen substantially in the near term.

Interestingly, Met Coke imports in India did not escalate in Apr’17, when there was the supply disruption of Coking Coal in Australia after the occurrence of the Debbie cyclone. The underlying factor was: Met Coke producers in the country used the stocks available with them for their production during the month, without reliance on imports.

Notably, the imports from Australia during Apr’17 had decreased by around 39% in comparison with the imports in the previous month. The decrease in imports from that country during the month was the outcome of the disruption in the rail infrastructure caused by the Debbie cyclone.

Source: CoalMint Research

A break-up of the ports in the country in respect to the imports in Apr’17 shows that the Paradip port had handled the highest volume of import traffic during the month; followed by the Hazira and Haldia ports.

Source: CoalMint Research