India's coal imports decreased by 4.2% during April-October 2023
India experienced a decline in coal imports, dropping to 148.13 million tons (MT) during the April-October period of the current financial year. This is a 4.2% drop compared to 154.72 MT in the same timeframe last year. Non-coking coal imports during this period were at 94.53 MT, down from last year's 104.41 MT. However, coking coal imports experienced a slight increase, reaching 33.74 MT compared to 32.74 MT in the previous year.
October sees increase in coal imports
Interestingly, despite the overall decline, coal imports rose to approximately 23.59 MT in October alone, up from 19.04 MT in October of the previous fiscal year. Non-coking coal imports reached 16.88 MT, while coking coal imports stood at 4.31 MT. Vinaya Varma, MD and CEO of Mjunction, explained that the increase in volumes was due to buyers taking fresh positions and several utility tenders being issued amid lower inventories at plants and the Centre's directive on imports for blends.
Overall decline attributed to several factors
To summarize, India's coal imports have decreased overall during the April-October period of the current financial year, with non-coking coal imports experiencing a decline and coking coal imports seeing a marginal increase. The decline in imports is due to several factors, such as reduced inventories at plants and government directives on imports for blends. However, the month of October witnessed a rise in coal imports.
