India’s Met Coke Imports Set to Hit Record High Despite Anti-Dumping Duty

New Delhi, Sep 15 (KNN) India’s metallurgical coke (met coke) imports are expected to reach a record high in the current fiscal year, driven by domestic supply shortages and strong demand from pig iron producers, even after the government imposed a five-year anti-dumping duty in July.

India is expected to import around 6 million metric tonnes of met coke in the fiscal year that began in April, up 32 per cent from the previous year, with Indonesia and Poland emerging as key suppliers, according to industry executives.

Steelmakers have opposed import restrictions for more than a year, citing inadequate domestic production. Reuters had earlier reported that the Union Ministry of Steel supported the industry’s demand to withdraw the anti-dumping duty. The government, however, imposed the duty for five years in July, Reuters reported. 

Indonesia has emerged as an increasingly important supplier, accounting for about 2.1 million tonnes of India’s met coke imports so far this year, up 165 per cent from a year earlier, an executive at a large steel company said. The executive was not authorised to speak publicly.

Domestic met coke output increased by only about 6 per cent year-on-year, below the growth in steel and pig iron demand, the executive said. Pig iron producers have also increased imports as they can avoid import duty when the coke is converted into pig iron for export, making imported met coke cheaper than domestically produced material, according to executives.

Demand for Indian pig iron in the US is strong and could double from 2025 levels this year, the executives said. Indian pig iron has also gained market share from Ukraine due to its lower prices.

According to commodities consultancy BigMint, Indian pig iron is around USD 50 per tonne cheaper. The US imports about 4-5 million tonnes of pig iron annually, with Brazil, Ukraine and India among its major suppliers.

Reflecting the domestic supply shortage, met coke prices rose 24 per cent year-on-year to Rs 35,850 per tonne in August, according to BigMint data. 

Monica Bachchan Duvvuri, founder of steel and mining market intelligence firm Metalogic PMS, attributed the increase to higher coking coal prices and said met coke prices could rise by another 3-4 per cent during the week.

Reuters had reported last week that steel prices were expected to rise further in the coming weeks, partly due to elevated coking coal costs.

(KNN Bureau)