Indian coking coal imports handled by the 12 major ports in the country amounted to 10.56 million mt in April-July this year, down slightly from 10.75 million mt in the corresponding period of last year, according to data released by Indian Ports Association (IPA).
Meanwhile, thermal coal imports during the given period increased by 24 percent year on year to around 33 million mt, the IPA data showed.
According to an official in the raw materials division of the government-owned steelmaker Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), the stagnant demand for imported coking coal is an indication that, despite falling international prices of coal, stagnant shipments are a result of low capacity utilization of steel mills amid depressed demand and higher steel import volumes.
Indian steel mills import an average of 30-35 million mt of coking coal a year to meet around 50 percent of total demand.