The Indian government is partnering with the steel industry to develop a project aimed at increasing India's negotiating power over imported coking coal prices, according to Indian Steel Minister Nagendra Nath Sinha.
According to data, in FY23, India imported 56.04 million tonnes of coking coal worth Rs 1.53 lakh crore (approximately USD 18.7 billion); The main import points were Australia and the USA. Abhyuday Jindal, Managing Director of Jindal Stainless, spoke about the difficulty of individual steelmakers coordinating their purchases of coking coal but expressed optimism about the government's initiative to lead a consortium of buyers.
Sinha also emphasized the importance of diversifying coking coal import sources to ensure a stable supply. Currently, India imports most of its coking coal from Australia, the USA, Canada, and Russia but diversification is needed. Additionally, Sinha underlined that a beneficiation policy is needed to meet the increasing demand for steel in India. With the growth of the country's economy, iron ore consumption is expected to increase significantly. India currently produces 270 million tonnes of iron ore and it is predicted that 437 million tonnes will be needed to meet steel production targets by 2030.
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