In FY24, India's coal imports witnessed a 7.7 percent increase, reaching 268.24 million tonnes (MT), primarily driven by favorable seaborne prices and anticipated growth in power demand during the summer. This marked a rise from 249.06 MT recorded in FY23, as per data compiled by mjunction services, a B2B e-commerce company.

March FY24 saw coal imports rise to 23.96 MT, up from 21.12 MT in the same month of the previous fiscal year. Of this, non-coking coal imports amounted to 15.33 MT, compared to 13.88 MT in March FY23, while coking coal imports reached 5.34 MT, up from 3.96 MT a year earlier.

Throughout FY24, non-coking coal imports totaled 175.96 MT, surpassing the 162.46 MT imported in FY23, while coking coal imports stood at 57.22 MT, compared to 54.46 MT in the preceding fiscal year.

According to Vinaya Varma, MD & CEO of mjunction, the increase in coal import volumes was influenced by sustained softness in seaborne prices and expectations of heightened demand during the summer months. However, with ample domestic coal availability, the continuation of strong import demand in the upcoming months remains uncertain.

India's all-India coal production in 2023-24 reached 997.25 MT, marking an 11.65 percent growth over FY23.