India's coal imports surge in November, likely to decline soon
What's the story
India's coal imports witnessed a massive surge of 28.1% in November, reaching 25.07 million tons (MT), up from 19.57 MT in the same month last year. The spike is mainly attributed to winter restocking by steel mills and some buyers taking fresh positions due to weak seaborne prices, according to industry data compiled by mjunction services Ltd., a B2B e-commerce platform and joint venture of SAIL and Tata Steel.
Future projections
Anticipated decline in coal imports
Despite the recent surge, a decline in coal imports is expected in the coming months. This is because of an increase in domestic availability. "In coming months, however, we expect to see a drop in imports due to increased domestic availability," said Vinaya Varma, Managing Director and CEO of mjunction services Ltd.
Import details
Breakdown of coal imports in November 2025
Among the total imports in November 2025, non-coking coal accounted for 14.28 MT, an increase from last year's 12.32 MT. Meanwhile, coking coal imports also witnessed a rise to 6.51 MT from last year's figure of 4.25 MT for the same month. This data highlights the changing dynamics of India's coal import landscape amid efforts to boost domestic production and reduce dependence on foreign sources.
Production goals
Coal India's production and offtake targets
Coal India Ltd (CIL), which contributes over 80% of domestic coal output, saw its production drop by 3.7% to 453.5 MT in the April-November period of the current fiscal year. The company has set an ambitious target of producing 875 MT and achieving an offtake of 900 MT in FY25-26. However, it fell short by nearly 7% last fiscal year with a production of only 781.1 MT against a target of 838 MT for FY24-25.