Coal imports in India grew by 20% to 19.92 mt in May

India's coal imports increased 20.4% to 19.92 (mt) in May. In the previous fiscal year of May, the country imported 16.54 mt of coal. According to mjunction services, import amounts of dry fuel are likely to remain subdued in the continuous monsoon season due to high freight rates, firm prices, and lower demand. The coal import of India also grew 25.4% to 42.19 mt in the first couple of months of the current fiscal, compared to 33.63 mt of coal imported in the same period of the last FY. Imports during May, non-cooking coal was at 13.64 mt, compared to 10.54 mt imported in the previous fiscal year. Coking coal imports held at 4.41 mt, against 3.18 mt imported in May last fiscal. Throughout April-May, non-coking coal import was at 28.96 mt, compared to 22.82 mt imported throughout the same period of the previous FY. Coking coal imports were reported at 9.15 mt, higher than 6.41 mt imported during April-May of the last FY. Vinaya Varma, MD and CEO, mjunction, said that the fixed prices in the seaborne market linked with higher domestic coal availability led to a fall in imports in May every month. He further informed that the import volumes are expected to stay subdued. Image Source Also read: Coal India exports 4,000 tonnes of coal to Bangladesh Also read: India recorded a 30% surge in coal imports in April