‘Purchases of Russian coking coal hit record’
India, the second largest steel maker, is among the highest importers globally.
APIndia’s coking coal purchase from Russia has seen an almost threefold jump over the last seven years to more than six million tonne (mt) for the April–February period of FY24. Average coking coal purchase from Russia has been in the 1.8 mt range over the last few years.
Russia, which emerged as the thirdlargest supplier from the second half of FY24, is increasing its market share at the cost of Australia and other smaller countries such as Canada and Mozambique. The U.S. is the secondlargest (buying) source for Indian mills with 7.54 mt of supplies, up 100% over the last sevenyear average shipments of 3.7 mt.
Coking coal is key feedstock for steelmaking, and India, the second largest steel maker, is among the highest importers globally.
According to data compiled by various Ministries and trade sources, Russian coking coal shipments grew by 214% YoY from 1.92 mt for 11M FY24. In earlier years, coking coal shipments coming in were at 1.32 mt in 11M FY22, 2.02 mt in FY21, 2.61 mt in FY20, 1.27 mt in FY19 and 1.82 mt in FY18, as per data compiled by market research firm BigMint. With Europe not buying, Russian coal comes into India at a near 2030% discount over Australian hard coking coal prices, which currently are about $270280 per tonne range.
“Trends indicate that Russia will continue to remain the thirdlargest supplier of coking coal,” a Ministry official told businessline.
(The writer is with The Hindu businessline)