August 16, 2026 - India's coal import basket is becoming increasingly steel-centric, with imports of metallurgical coal rising sharply in FY2025-26 even as dependence on imported thermal coal declined, according to an MCX report. India imported around 244.2 million tonne of non-coking and metallurgical coal in FY2025-26, broadly unchanged from about 245.3 million tonne in the previous financial year.

However, the relatively stable headline import figure masked a significant shift in the composition of imports. Coking coal imports increased 12.4 per cent year-on-year to 63.7 million tonne from 56.6 million tonne, while pulverised coal injection, or PCI, imports rose 6.2 per cent to 20.9 million tonne from 19.6 million tonne.This pushed India's total metallurgical coal imports to 84.5 million tonne in FY2025-26, up 10.4 per cent from 76.3 million tonne a year earlier, supported by continued demand from the country's steel sector.

In contrast, non-coking coal imports declined 5.5 per cent year-on-year to 159.7 million tonne from 169 million tonne, reflecting improved domestic coal availability and lower dependence on imported thermal coal. The report said India's import basket is steadily shifting away from fuels used primarily by the power sector towards steel-linked raw materials, making future coal import trends increasingly sensitive to steel production rather than electricity demand. "Incremental import demand is now concentrated in metallurgical segments, where domestic supply cannot match quality requirements," the report noted.

The changing pattern is also reshaping India's supplier mix.Russia emerged as one of India's fastest-growing coal suppliers in FY2025-26, with shipments increasing 13.1 per cent year-on-year to 32 million tonne from 28.3 million tonne. Russian coking coal supplies to India rose 12.1 per cent to 9.2 million tonne, while non-coking coal imports from Russia increased 20 per cent to 7.5 million tonne, highlighting its growing presence across both metallurgical and thermal coal segments. Australia, meanwhile, remained India's key source of premium coking coal, with its overall coal exports to India rising 9.3 per cent to 43 million tonnes.

Australian coking coal shipments increased 13.4 per cent to 34.3 million tonne during the year. The report said India's coal procurement strategy is becoming more diversified and steel-centric as domestic thermal coal availability improves while the expanding steel industry continues to depend on imported metallurgical coal.