India’s non-coking coal imports fall 6% in 2025

India’s imports of non-coking coal, used primarily for power generation and industrial applications, fell by 6% year on year in calendar year 2025 (CY’25), according to the latest data from BigMint. Import volumes declined to around 163 million tonnes (mnt), down from more than 173 mnt in CY’24.

BigMint noted that non-coking coal imports started the year on a subdued note at 13 mnt in January, rose to a peak of 18 mnt in May, and then fell sharply to about 11.4 mnt by December.

The decline was driven by two key factors.

Coal-based power generation fell sharply. India’s coal-fired power generation declined by 3% y-o-y in CY’25, reflecting a milder summer and a prolonged monsoon that reduced air-conditioning demand. Generation fell by 9.8% compared with CY’24, marking only the second full-year decline in coal-based power generation in more than 50 years, according to International Energy Agency (IEA) data. As a result, demand for imported coal for power generation remained muted.

Renewable energy output expanded rapidly. Renewable power generation rose sharply in CY’25, increasing by more than 22% y-o-y for solar, wind and small hydro combined, and by around 15% for large hydro. Data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) show that power generation from coal and gas grew at an average rate of 63 terawatt-hours per year (TWh/year) between CY’19 and CY’24, but fell by 50 TWh from CY’24 to CY’25. In contrast, non-fossil power generation accelerated from an average increase of 22 TWh/year during CY’19–CY’24 to 71 TWh/year in CY’24–CY’25.

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These trends kept demand for imported coal subdued, despite a marginal 1.06% y-o-y rise in domestic coal production to around 984 mnt in CY’25, according to BigMint.

Port-wise imports

Non-coking coal imports declined sharply at ports along India’s eastern coast, supported by improved domestic supply. Several east coast ports recorded a 30–50% drop in import volumes from their 2025 peaks by year-end.

This trend mirrors rising domestic coal availability from Coal India Ltd (CIL) subsidiaries in Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal, where shorter rail distances, higher mine output and improved evacuation allowed domestic coal to competitively displace imports for power and industrial consumers along the eastern seaboard.

On the west coast, imports also declined in 2025 but at a slower and less uniform pace. Mundra recorded a sharp contraction, while volumes at Kandla and Tuna ended the year below mid-year peaks amid volatility. The milder decline reflects logistical constraints and higher costs associated with transporting domestic coal to western markets.

Country-wise imports

Indonesia remained India’s largest supplier of non-coking coal throughout 2025, followed by South Africa, the United States and Russia. However, a marked reduction in Indonesian cargoes in the second half of the year underscored active substitution by domestic coal rather than a shift toward alternative suppliers.

The decline in Indonesian volumes was not offset by higher shipments from other origins, resulting in an overall drop in non-coking coal imports.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak