Coal imports likely to remain subdued in near term

The country’s coal imports dropped 4.2 per cent to 213.10 million tonnes (MT) in the April-January period of the current fiscal year and with seaborne prices showing an uptick, imports are likely to remain subdued in the near term.

The decline underscores the country’s push towards self-reliance in coal production amid surging domestic output, even as global thermal coal prices firm up due to supply constraints and geopolitical tensions.

According to data compiled by Mjunction Services Ltd, a B2B e-commerce platform and joint venture of SAIL and Tata Steel, during the April-January period of the current financial year, non-coking coal import was at 127.80 MT, lower than 141.18 MT imported during the same period last fiscal year.

Coking coal import was at 50.39 MT during April-January 2025-26, up from 45.83 MT in the year-ago period.

The country’s import in January was down 22.1 per cent to 16.64 MT, over 21.37 MT imported in January last fiscal year. Of the total import in January, non-coking coal import stood at 9.45 MT, lower than 12.33 MT imported in January last financial year. Coking coal import was at 4.23 MT, compared to 5.23 MT imported in January last financial year.

“There was a significant drop in thermal coal import (on a y-o-y basis), amid high inventory available in the domestic market.

With the seaborne prices showing an uptick, imports are likely to remain subdued in the near-term,” mjunction MD & CEO Vinaya Varma said.

Domestic coal production is likely to grow 6-7 per cent annually in the next few years to reach about 1.5 billion tonnes by 2029-30.

The country’s coal demand is expected to continue rising and peak around 2040, Minister for Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy had said.

The country is increasing its domestic coal production to meet the increasing energy requirements of the country.

To meet the future demand of coal through indigenous sources and to reduce non-essential import of coal, domestic coal production is expected to grow 6-7 per cent annually in the next few years to reach about 1.5 billion tonnes by 2029-30, the minister had said.