In April 2024, India's coal imports increased by 13.2% to 26.10 million metric tonnes (MT) as purchasers took up new positions in anticipation of an early summer. The nation imported 23.05 MT of coal around the same time last year, citing data gathered by B2B e-commerce business Mjunction Services Ltd. This is in response to comments made by G. Kishan Reddy, the minister of coal and mines, who suggested that India produce more coal domestically and import less of it. According to the data, India's coal and coke imports in April 2024 through major and non-major ports increased by 13.2% compared to April 2023. It was reported that non-coking coal imports in April amounted to 17.40 MT, up from 15.15 MT in the same month of the previous year. Additionally, coking coal imports totaled 4.97 MT, compared to 4.77 MT previously. Vinaya Varma, MD and CEO of Mjunction, noted that there had been an increase in volumes. He remarked that, looking forward, there might be sustained demand from both the power and non-regulated sectors due to pre-monsoon restocking. The data indicated that coal imports in April showed an 8.93% rise compared to March, when imports were recorded at 23.96 MT. In FY24, India's coal imports saw a 7.7% increase to 268.24 MT, driven by lower seaborne prices and expectations of heightened power demand during the summer. It was highlighted that the country's coal import volume was 249.06 MT in FY23.
