According to figures from the Indian consultancy Coalmint, with imports climbing by more than a fifth from June to a record 2.06 million tonnes, Russia overtook China as India’s third-largest coal supplier in July. With Mozambique and Colombia alternately appearing in the top five, historically, Russia has been the sixth-largest exporter of coal to India, trailing only Indonesia, South Africa, Australia, and the United States.
The recent decision by India’s central bank to permit payments for commodities in Indian rupees is expected to provide bilateral trade with Russia a significant boost. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, India has increased its imports from Russia by roughly five times, totaling over $15 billion.
India, the second-largest producer, importer, and user of coal, has historically purchased more coking coal from Russia than from Australia, with Australia serving as the other major supplier. Coking coal is used primarily in the production of steel.
However, the recent steep discounts provided by Russian suppliers to Indian consumers have encouraged higher purchases of thermal coal, which is primarily used in power generation. This is especially true given that global prices have traded at close to record highs as a result of western sanctions that are stifling traditional trade.
In July, compared to June, thermal coal imports from Russia increased by 70.3 percent to a record 1.29 million tonnes, while coking coal imports increased by more than two-thirds to more than 280,000 tonnes, according to Coalmint statistics. The statistics indicated that the leading provider was Indonesia, while South Africa narrowly beat out Russia. According to two Indian traders, steel and cement producers were the key drivers of higher coal imports from Russia.
In July, India imported 23.8 million tonnes of coal overall, including shipments of anthracite and PCI coal, compared to a record 26.29 million tonnes in June, according to statistics from Coalmint.
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