Market Trend & Growth
As India continues to address its energy needs and environmental concerns, the trajectory of the coal import market is anticipated evolve in the coming years. Energy demand, quality, lack of infrastructure for specific coal production are key drivers to influence the import of coal in India.
India faces constraints in the quality of its domestic coal reserves, particularly lacking in an ample supply of high-quality coking coal essential for steelmaking and related industries. Consequently, the country resorts to coal imports to offset the deficiency in superior quality coal. Anthracite is the highest quality of coal which carries 80 to 95% carbon content. It is found in small quantity in Jammu and Kashmir . More of it is exported from Russian federation, China, Vietnam, South Africa
The escalating energy demand in India, driven by population growth and rapid urbanization. India contributes 17.76% of world’s population and the urbanization rate in India is 1.34% in 2021 . Hence power consumption will continue to increase where coal is important raw material for power generation (74.2% of electricity produced by coal in India) . It is expected that coal consumption and receipts by thermal power stations will increase in 2024 .
Several factors, including geological constraints, challenges in land acquisition, and adherence to environmental regulations, constrain India’s domestic coal production. Many mines are closing down because of exhaustion of reserves, viability issues and safety reasons .
Opting to import coal from other nations can be economically advantageous compared to domestic production, particularly when the quality of the imported coal surpasses that of the domestically sourced