India increased its imports of coking coal by 10% y/y in 2025

Imports are growing amid increased steel production in the country

In 2025, India increased its imports of coking coal by 9.8% year-on-year – to 62.6 million tonnes, with another 21 million tonnes accounted for by pulverised coal fuel (PCI coal), according to BigMint data.

Foreign supplies increased amid rising steel production in the country against the backdrop of a global downturn.

Total imports of this metallurgical ingredient amounted to 83.2 million tonnes last year (+9.4% year-on-year).

The Russian Federation accounted for the lion’s share of PCI supplies to the country – more than 14 million tonnes out of a total of 21 million tonnes. Australia maintains a leading position in the premium hard coking coal (PHCC) supply segment, while hard coking coal from the United States and Canada is also gradually entering the market.

At the same time, domestic coking coal production is declining in the country. Last year, subsidiaries of the state-owned Coal India Limited (CIL) reduced this figure by 10% year-on-year. Although due to insufficient enrichment capacity, a significant part of domestic coking coal is supplied to the energy sector, key Indian producers, which depend on domestic operations as well as supplies from CIL, have been unable to rely on domestic sources to meet part of their needs.

India aims to increase steel production to 300 million tonnes per year by 2030 and reach 500 million tonnes by 2047, strengthening its position as a major buyer of seaborne coking coal, Argus Media notes. Along with ambitious expansion initiatives, the country has extended protective tariffs on certain flat-rolled products for three years to protect domestic industry. These protective measures are designed to preserve Indian steelmaking capacity by reducing dependence on imported semi-finished products.

According to a report by consulting firm Argus, imports of this product into the country are expected to remain strong, with arrivals in 2026 amounting to approximately 81.6 million tonnes and in 2027 to 86.5 million tonnes. Anti-dumping policies on low-ash metallurgical coke from major suppliers are expected to have a slight positive impact on imports over the next six months.

It should be noted that iron ore imports to India will reach a multi-year high this year, according to BigMint calculations. Limited domestic supply is leading to a significant increase in imports from abroad.