India expects increase in coking coal production after agreement with Australia

Indian steelmakers are expecting uninterrupted coke supplies from Australia amid the recently signed Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) between India and Australia. The agreement will eliminate the current 2.5% tariff on most coal imports, including coking coal, Callanish said.

ECTA will reduce the cost of coking coal imports for Indian steel producers, which will ultimately reduce their cost of steel production.

“The signing of the Ind-Aus ECTA will help steel companies obtain duty-free coal and other raw materials from Australia and will boost trade between the two countries in the long term,” AMNS India Marketing Director Ranjan Dhar told local media.

“More importantly, the key raw material for steel production, coking coal, which has risen in price significantly over the past few months, can now be imported without any duties, as Australia is the main supplier of this critical fuel. This can reduce the cost of steel production,” Dhar added.

India is dependent on imports to meet its demand for coking coal. In 2021, the country imported 43.35 million tons of coking coal, of which 31.4 million tons came from Australia.