Sagging coal auction volumes raise imports by 13% in April-February

Demand for higher imported coal shipments was fuelled by improved capacity utilisation of manufacturing industries in steel and cement

Lower volumes of coal set aside for sales at e-auctions and spot e-auctions escalated the country’s dependence on imports.

During April-February period of this fiscal, the total volume of coal liquidated through auctions tumbled 30 per cent to 56.17 million tonnes (mt). Consequently, the country’s overall coal imports grew by 13.2 per cent to 218.8 mt in the period, data collated by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). Of this, 22-23 per cent is coking coal, the residual being thermal coal.

Two-thirds of India’s imported coal was sourced from Australia and Indonesia. Imports from South Africa fell in the