India Coal Imports Up 9.5%

Coal imports rose by 9.5% to 18.33 million tons in September, after having registered year-on-year decline for five months in a row, as some power plants faced fuel shortages, PTI reported. “Coal imports (all types) in September 2017 stood at 18.33 MT (provisional), against 16.73 MT in September 2016,” according to latest data by m-junction services, India’s largest e-commerce company. Mjunction services is an online procurement and sales platform floated jointly by state-run Steel Authority of India and steel behemoth Tata Steel. There was a revival of coal demand post-monsoon rains, Mjunction CEO Vinaya Varma said, adding that at present the buyers are looking for restocking for the approaching winter months. Besides, he said, the healthy growth in coal-fired generation of late has raised coal demand in the country, resulting in higher off-take from domestic sources as well as imports of the material. “The higher volume of coal and coke imports in September (9.6% year-on-year) is mainly due to a 1.1 MT increase in non-coking coal imports during the month under review.