India's coal imports rise 8% in first half of FY25
What's the story
India's coal imports have seen a sharp increase in the first half of the ongoing fiscal. The country imported 140.60 million tons (MT) of coal between April and September, a 7.8% increase over the same period last year, according to data compiled by B2B e-commerce firm Mjunction. The surge is mainly due to an increase in non-coking coal imports, offsetting a decrease in coking coal imports. Non-coking coal is primarily used for power generation.
Import reduction
September records dip in coal imports
Despite the overall rise in coal imports in H1 FY25, September witnessed a 10.09% decline to 19.42 MT from 21.60 MT in the same month of the last fiscal year. The total imports for this month included mostly non-coking coal at 13.24 MT, down from 14.88 MT last year, and coking coal at 3.39 MT, down from last year's 4.59 MT.
Import details
Non-coking coal imports rise ahead of festive season
From April to September, non-coking coal imports stood at 91.92 MT, up from last year's 83.45 MT during the same period. However, coking coal imports declined slightly to 28.18 MT from last year's 29.44 MT. Mjunction MD and CEO Vinaya Varma observed that "there was a slight increase in non-coking coal import in September (over previous month), ahead of the festive season."
Production boost
Domestic coal production records 6% increase
India's domestic coal production has also increased, rising 6% to 453 MT in the April-September period of FY25, compared to 428 MT in the same period last year. Coal India Ltd, which contributes over 80% of domestic coal output, has been urged by Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy to ramp up production and supplies to reduce dependence on imports.