By Neha Arora
NEW DELHI, April 24 (Reuters) - India is set to step up
its purchases of Russian coking coal this fiscal year to cash in
on lower prices and diversify its imports, trade and industry
officials said.
Executives at three steelmaking companies, who didn't wish
to named, said Indian firms are keen to capitalise on lower
Russian coking coal prices and faster deliveries.
Coking coal imports from Australia, New Delhi's biggest
supplier of the key raw material for steelmaking, have
traditionally constituted 75% to 80% of India's annual
shipments.
But during the first 11 months of the previous fiscal year
to March 2023, Australia's share dropped to 54% due to higher
imports from the United States and Russia, government data
showed.
Moscow emerged as the fourth-biggest coking coal supplier to
India between April 2022 and February 2023, by exporting 3.9
million tonnes, more than double than a year earlier and may
emerge as the second-biggest supplier this year, analysts said.
"Yes, that is likely considering India's strategic focus on
increasing energy sourcing from Russia," said Snehdeep Bohra, a
director at Fitch Ratings in India.
Analysts at London-based CRU, a commodity-focused research
group, said recent Russian coking coal prices were 15% to 30%
lower than Australian metallurgical coal supplies that averaged
around $350 per tonne.
Russian supplies are likely to continue to be cheaper during
the June quarter, the CRU analysts said.
Other than lucrative prices, relatively smooth trade flows
between Moscow and New Delhi would also accelerate coking coal
shipments to India given the presence of several Russian trading
companies, said Rakesh Surana, partner at Deloitte India.
"These companies play an important role in facilitating
trade between the two countries, as they help in coordinating
transportation, logistics, and financing for coking coal
shipments," he said.
India's coking coal demand is likely to jump 8% to 10% in
2023 thanks to rising steel demand from housing and
infrastructure sectors, Fitch's Bohra said.
(Reporting by Neha Arora; Editing by Mayank Bhardwaj and Sharon
Singleton)
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