India’s coking coal imports fall 19%, volumes from Australia at 2-year low

India’s coking coal imports fell by 19% m-o-m to 4 million tonnes (mnt) in November 2022, against 4.95 mn t in October, CoalMint’s data reveals. On a y-o-y basis, the same was down by 25%.

This fall in coking coal import volumes came amid sluggish domestic steel demand in India, coupled with sufficient inventory build-up by Indian mills. The mills are heard to have raw material inventory sufficient till December-end, as they had booked in bulk quantities in the previous months in fear of heavy rainfall in Australia due to La-Nina event, informed market participants.

India’s crude steel production in November remained largely stable at 10.4 mnt m-o-m, but it was down 6% from the current year’s high seen in March 2022.

Country-wise import segregation

Qty in mnt

India’s coking coal imports from Australia registered a drop of 30% m-o-m in November to 2.47 mnt, the lowest in the last two years. The drop also came as Indian steel mills opted for imports of cheaper Chinese met coke amid elevated Australian coking coal prices.

Shipments from Russia, the US and Indonesia fell by 34%, 31% and 37% respectively in November. However, shipments from Canada rose by 155%. The voyage time between India and Canada is 45-60 days and thus September bookings made their way to the country in November.

Tata Steel tops list of importers

Qty in mnt

Tata Steel imported the highest quantity in November at 0.96 mnt, up by 41% m-o-m. SAIL was the second largest importer followed by JSW Steel and RINL. However, the shipments by SAIL declined 66% m-o-m, the lowest for the year 2022.

Dhamra receives largest quantity of coking coal

Qty in mnt

In November, Dhamra Port received the largest volume of coking coal at 0.95 mnt, down by 3% m-o-m. However, imports via Paradip and Krishnapatnam ports increased by 69% and 50% respectively.

Outlook

India’s coking coal imports in December are likely to remain in a range similar to November’s. However, the imports, especially from Australia, may see a rise starting next year as the free trade agreement between India and Australia will come into force in late-December.