Coal imports fall 8.5% in February amid high stockpiles, firm global prices

New Delhi: India’s coal imports fell 8.5 per cent to 16.55 million tonnes in February due to record domestic coal stock and tightening shipping prices.

The country’s coal imports are set to continue their weak course this month due to efforts by domestic miners to liquidate stocks.

mjunction MD and CEO Vinaya Varma said, “Record high domestic coal stock and stable sea prices have led to a decline in thermal coal imports. The weak trend in imports is expected to continue this month as well, with domestic miners trying to liquidate stocks.” he said.

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mjunction services is a B2B e-commerce platform and a joint venture between Tata Steel and Steel Authority of India.

According to data compiled by mjunction services limited, imports in February 2024-25 stood at 18.10 (MT).
On a monthly basis, coal imports in February remained almost flat compared to 16.64 tonnes in January 2026. Of the total imports in February, non-coking coal imports stood at 9.80 tonnes, lower than the imports of 11.08 tonnes in February 2024-25. Imports of coking coal stood at 3.92 tonnes, above the imports of 3.79 million tonnes in February 2024-25.

Non-coking coal imports during April-February 2025-26 stood at 137.60 tonnes; This was lower than the imports of 152.26 tonnes during the same period in 2024-25. Imports of coking coal stood at 54.31 MT during April-February 2025-26 compared to 49.62 MT recorded in April-February 2024-25.

The decline in imports comes amid a strategic push for self-sufficiency in coal production as part of a self-sufficiency initiative.

All India coal production stood at 1,047,523 MT in 2024-25 compared to 997,826 MT in 2023-24, registering a growth of around 4.98 per cent.

A senior coal ministry official said on Wednesday that coal stocks in thermal power plants remained comfortably around 55 million tonnes as of Tuesday, which is enough to produce 24 days of uninterrupted electricity based on the average consumption in the last seven days.

Coal Joint Secretary Sanjeev Kumar Kassi allayed concerns about possible shortages due to increased summer demand, emphasizing that stock levels showed “absolutely no deficit” on the power generation side.

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“Coal stock at the power plants is around 55 million tonnes as of yesterday (Tuesday), adequate for 24 days of uninterrupted power generation based on the average consumption of the last seven days. So we have absolutely no deficit at the power generation side,” he said at an inter-ministerial briefing on the developments in West Asia.

Domestic coal production matches consumption levels, the official said.