India’s imports of metallurgical coal, a critical input for blast furnace-based steel production, rose 9.4 per cent year-on-year in calendar year 2025 to over 83.1 million tonnes, up from around 76 mnt in 2024, according to data from BigMint.

The increase was driven by a surge in domestic steel production, with India emerging as the only major economy to record strong growth in steel output in 2025 amid a broader global slowdown. Imports account for nearly 95 per cent of India’s metallurgical coal requirement, underlining the country’s continued dependence on overseas supplies.

Coking coal imports rose 9.8 per cent year-on-year to around 62.6 mnt, while the remainder comprised pulverised coal injection (PCI) coal, with imports exceeding 21 mnt. Australia remained the largest supplier of coking coal at about 34 mnt, followed by Russia at 9.7 mnt and the United States at 9.3 mnt. In the PCI segment, Russia dominated with over 14 million exports to India.

Port-wise, eastern ports led arrivals, with Paradip topping at over 12 mnt, followed by Dhamra and Gangavaram. BigMint noted that India’s crude steel output rose 10 per cent year-on-year to 164 mnt in 2025, making higher steel production the primary driver of the rise in metallurgical coal imports.