Domestic coke makers flag import misuse

Domestic met coke makers have sought a probe into misuse of the advance authorisation scheme by importers, alleging that the coal was being used for steel sold in the domestic market instead of exports.

Met coke is a feedstock for making steel. One tonne of steel requires 0.5 tonne of met coke. India produces roughly 160 million tonnes (mt) crude steel requiring 80 mt met coke. "India exports not more than 5 million tonnes of steel, so a chunk of coke being imported under the scheme is used for metal consumed in the domestic market," said Raj Agarwal, convener, Indian Metallurgical Coke Manufacturers Association (IMCOM) while adding India imports 2.8 million tonnes of met coke.