India: Coking coal imports climb up 6% m-o-m in Apr’25

• Shipments from Australia, Mozambique improve m-o-m
• JSW Steel emerges top importer for 2nd straight month

India’s coking coal imports rose 6% to 5.0 million tonnes (mnt) in April 2025 from 4.7 mnt in March, according to BigMint data. The increase was supported by higher shipments from key suppliers such as Australia and Mozambique, though volumes from the US and Russia saw a slight decline.

Imports by source

Australia remained the top exporter, accounting for over 50% of shipments, with 2.6 mnt in April against 2.1 mnt in March. Mozambique also saw a marginal uptick to 0.4 mnt from 0.3 mnt. However, imports from the US dropped to 0.7 mnt from 1.0 mnt, while Russian shipments edged down to 0.8 mnt from 1.0 mnt.

Indonesia shipped 0.3 mnt in April, up slightly from 0.2 mnt in March, continuing its steady uptrend through small increases in volumes.

Leading receivers

JSW Steel was the largest importer in April, receiving 1.2 mnt, unchanged m-o-m. Even in March, it had occupied the first position.

SAIL followed, with 0.9 mnt, down from 1.2 mnt. Tata Steel maintained steady imports at 0.7 mnt. Meanwhile, RINL’s intake dropped to 0.2 mnt from 0.4 mnt, and Jindal Steel and Power received 0.2 mnt compared to 0.3 mnt a month earlier.

Price trends

BigMint’s premium hard coking coal (PHCC) index for CNF Paradip, India, was assessed at $203/tonne (t) on 15 April 2025, reflecting an increase of $15/t from $188/t on 31 March. This price rise was driven by higher offers, particularly in the spot market, due to limited supplies from Australia. Additionally, the average price of Australian premium hard coking coal (PHCC) for April rose to $197/t from $190/t in March.