India's dependence on Australian coking coal is declining, with imports from Australia accounting for 54 percent of total coking coal imports in 2025, down from 73 percent in 2019, India's ministry of steel said in a statement before a parliamentary committee on Thursday, November 5.
The ministry noted that about 90 percent of coking coal demand from blast furnace operators was met through imports.
Russia's share of India's total imports increased from 0.62 percent to 8.15 percent in 2025. Similarly, the share of imports from the US rose from eight percent to 17 percent. Mozambique's share increased from four percent to 7.31 percent, while Indonesia's share rose from 2.46 percent to four percent, the steel ministry said in its statement.
The Indian steel sector imported 58 million mt of coking coal in the fiscal year 2024-25, up from 57 million mt in the previous fiscal year.
Globally, high-quality hard coking coal reserves are concentrated in a few countries. Australia accounts for over 50 percent of internationally traded coking coal because of its high-quality reserves, stable mining ecosystem and efficient logistics. Other producing countries, including the US, Canada, Russia and Mozambique, have smaller, more volatile export capacities, the ministry said.
