India's coal import increased substantially by 35 per cent to 21.1 million tonnes (MT) in September, as against 15.61 million tonnes in the corresponding month previous fiscal. The rise in imports comes at a time when the captive power plants in the Country are grappling with the issue of coal shortages. "The increase in coal and coke imports in September is mainly due to higher imports of non-coking coal during the month under review," according to mjunction services, a joint venture between Tata Steel and SAIL.
There was, however, a marginal drop in coking coal imports on a month-on-month basis, it said.
Commenting on the coal import trend, mjunction CEO Vinaya Varma told that, "With the coal shortage persisting in the power sector, there is high demand for imported material. This, accompanied by a correction in thermal coal prices in the global market, has led to higher imports in September. If other things remain the same, this trend is likely to continue in October".
Steam coal imports during the first six months of 2018-19 increased 17.5 per cent to around 82.5 MT, compared to 70.21 MT in the same period previous year, mjunction said.
The Government had earlier said that during 2017-18 coal imports increased to 208.27 MT due to increase in demand by consuming sectors.
The Country's coal import fell from 217.7 million tonnes in 2014-15 to 190.9 MT in 2016-17.
Source :- Dailyshippingtimes.com
