According to the vessel line-up data compiled by CoalMint Research, Indian Non-Coking coal imports have continued its downtrend for the second consecutive month in 2018, as coal shipments had fell 14% M-o-M in Feb’18.
On the back of improved domestic coal availability due to the efforts made by CIL; imported Non-Coking coal demand was lowered on the monthly basis. In addition, high coal prices and supply disruption in Indonesian and South African coal market had also impacted the Indian coal buying.
Total Non-Coking coal imports were marked at 11.63 MnT in Feb’18 against 13.49 MnT in Jan’18.
Still, the increase in yearly power generation coupled with the positive growth in steel sector had steadily maintained the imported coal demand, as imports in Feb’18 were recorded 17% higher than the level attained at 9.94 MnT in Feb’17.
So far, the country has imported 25.12 MnT non-coking coal during the first two months of CY18, which had increased 31% Y-o-Y compared with the total of 19.12 MnT recorded during the same period last year.
The upcoming summer season is likely to increase the appetite for imported coal, as the available coal stock available at Indian power plants was adequate for only 10 days of power generation. Moreover, 51 plants were having critical stock of less than 7 days.
As per the data provided by CEA, the available coal stock at Indian power stations was assessed at 15.675 MnT as on 28 Feb’18, 40% lower on the year than the levels maintained at 26.153 MnT back in Feb’17.
Country-wise Non-Coking Coal Imports :
Indonesian Non-Coking coal export to India was down 15% M-o-M to 6.34 MnT in Feb’18, which were also 16% lower on the year compared with 7.55 MnT in Feb’17.
South African coal export had decreased 7% M-o-M to 3.17 MnT. However, on the yearly basis, exports had increased 152% from 1.26 MnT in Feb’17.
USA was the third-largest coal exporter during the month; the country had supplied 0.93 MnT non-coking coal in Feb’18.
Amongst the major Non-Coking coal exporters, only Russia had witnessed an increase in coal supplies to India on the monthly basis.
Source: CoalMinT Research | Vessel Line-up data | Quantity in MnT
Major Non-Coking Coal Receivers:
In Feb’18, the ports based on the West coast had received 5.87 MnT Non-Coking coal shipments, while East coast ports had handled the remaining shipments of 5.76 MnT.
In terms of Individual port, Krishnapatnam had replaced Mundra port to become the largest Non-Coking coal handling port in Feb’18. In contrast, among the individual companies, Adani Enterprises remained the largest receiver of Non-Coking coal, with intake of 1.948 MnT imported coal during the month.
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