India’s pet coke imports dropped by 5% m-o-m to 0.88 million tonnes (mnt) in December 2023 as against 0.92 mnt in November, as per CoalMint data. Imports remained largely stable to 0.88 mnt in December 2023 as against 0.88 mnt in December 2022.
Country- wise imports
Qty in mnt
The US recorded the highest level of pet coke exports to India for the month. Imports from the USA dropped by 11% m-o-m at 0.55 mnt in December 2023 as against 0.62 mnt in November 2023. Imports from Saudi Arabia were at 0.11 mnt, remained unchanged on a monthly basis. Imports from Oman saw a drop of 58% m-o-m to 0.06 mnt in December 2023 as against 0.14 mnt in December 2023.
Company wise imports
Qty in mnt
Shri Cement recorded the highest level of imports at 0.23 mnt in December 2023, surged by more than twofolds on monthly basis. JK Cement recorded the second-highest imports at 0.12 mnt in December 2023, followed by Reliance Industries at 0.10 mnt.
Pet coke prices
BPCL had revised pet coke prices from its various refineries for December 2023 shipments. prices were at-
Bina: INR 15,174/t (for rail supply) and INR 15,124/t (for road supply), up INR 166/t. Kochi at INR 13,072/t (for rail supply), down INR 107/t. There is no road supply for pet coke from Kochi.
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) reduced its pet coke prices by INR 963/t to INR 13,546/t for Dec’23 sales. The Dec’23 month’s price is about 23.9% lower than price of same month last year. RIL is releasing very limited quantity in the market for sale as they are consuming major portion of their production of pet coke in their gasification units.
The average prices of pet coke imported to India from the US dropped by 6% m-o-m and were assessed at $127.1/t in December 2023 as against $135/t in November 2023, towards west coast of India.
The decline in international coal demand, coupled with subdued market activity during holidays, has contributed to the decrease in pet coke prices. Indian buyers currently benefit from abundant options for thermal coal cargoes, as thermal coal prices are also softening.
Port-wise pet coke imports
Kandla recorded the highest level of imports at 0.22 mnt in December 2023 compared with 0.15 mnt in November 2023. Mundra recorded imports at 0.17 mnt (surged by around twofold) for the month of December 2023. Gangavaram imported about 0.13 mnt in December 2023 as against nil a month ago.
Outlook
The pet coke import is anticipated to fall down amid reduced demand from India. However, usually post-December , Indian pet coke demand lifts on resumption from holidays.
