April-July coal import marginally higher, July alone see 16% rise

New Delhi: Coal imports during April-July saw a marginal increase of 0.9%, reaching 90.51 million tonnes compared to 89.68 million tonnes in the previous year.

Non-coking coal imports increased by 2% in the period, while coking coal imports declined by 2.6%, the government said on Wednesday.

While coking coal is mainly used in steel, non-coking coal goes into thermal power plants.


In July alone, coal imports rose by 15.9%, reaching 21.81 million tonnes compared to 18.82 million tonnes in the corresponding month a year back.

The government attributed the increase in coal import for the power sector to the imported coal-based power plants which are designed to utilize imported coal only.

Such plants imported 17.69 million tonnes during this period, up from 10.12 million tonnes in the corresponding period last year.

There was a notable growth of 10.2% in coal-based power generation from April to July compared to the same period last year. However, coal import for blending purposes declined 8.2% during the same period.

Coal imports by the non-regulated sector, however, fell 11% on year to 44.97 million tonnes.

Production in April-July reached 321.40 million tonnes compared to 293.35 million tonnes in the same period of FY24, showing a growth of 9.56%.

India has the fifth-largest coal reserves in the world and stands as the second-largest consumer of coal. However, the current consumption landscape reveals a critical need for imports, particularly for coking coal and high-grade thermal coal, which are not sufficiently available within domestic reserves.

The shortfall necessitates imports to support key industries, including steel, the government said.