India’s Tata Steel shipped in an estimated 75,000 mt of coal from Russia in May this year, industry and trade circles said on Wednesday, June 22.
The sources said that the shipments were made in May after Tata Steel announced in April that its manufacturing facilities in India and the Netherlands were “taking a conscious decision to stop doing business with Russia”.
However, the sources said that it was not clear and no confirmation was either available from the company whether the shipments made during May were for contracts concluded before the decision to stop doing business with Russia was taken in April.
Meanwhile, reports available in India suggest that Indian imports of coal from Russia have surged sixfold over the past 20 days, with suppliers offering a staggering rate of discount of 30 percent and that too against payment in Indian currency.
Sources said that, with India facing acute coal shortages and the near-monopoly state-run supplier Coal India Limited (CIL) diverting the bulk of available volumes to thermal power plants, energy-starved steel and cement companies are rushing to conclude import contracts and discounts as high as 30 percent and rupee-payment terms have made Russia the most preferred country for sourcing coal imports.