- Since Russia invaded Ukraine, India’s imports from Russia have increased by roughly five times to over $15 billion.
- According to two Indian importers, cement producers and steelmakers were the key drivers of higher Russian coal imports.
According to figures from the Indian consultancy Coalmint, Russia overtook China as India’s third-largest coal supplier in July as imports increased by more than a fifth from June to a record 2.06 million tonnes.
Behind Indonesia, South Africa, Australia, and the United States—with Mozambique and Colombia alternately appearing in the top five—Russia has historically been the sixth-largest coal exporter to India.
India anticipates that the recent decision by its central bank to permit payments for commodities in Indian rupees will significantly boost bilateral trade with Russia. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, India’s imports from Russia have increased by roughly five times to over $15 billion.
India, the second-largest coal producer, importer, and consumer in the world, has historically purchased more of the coking coal, which is primarily utilised in the production of steel, from Russia than from Australia.
While thermal coal, which is mostly used in power generation, has recently traded at close to record highs due to western sanctions stifling traditional commerce, huge discounts offered by Russian suppliers to Indian customers have encouraged higher buying.
According to Coalmint data, thermal coal imports from Russia increased by 70.3 percent in July compared to June to reach a record 1.29 million tonnes, while coking coal imports increased by more than two-thirds to more than 280,000 tonnes.
According to the report, South Africa just beat out Russia as the leading supplier, followed by Indonesia. According to two Indian importers, cement producers and steelmakers were the key drivers of higher Russian coal imports.
The Coalmint statistics revealed that overall Indian coal imports, including shipments of anthracite and PCI coal, were roughly 10% lower in July at 23.8 million tonnes than the record-breaking imports of 26.29 million tonnes in June.
