Tata Steel tests Russian coal to diversify sources6

For the first time, Tata Steel tested several samples of coking coal imported from the Russian Far East during the steelmaking process. The producer intends to use coal from this source to reduce its dependence on Australian coal.

When asked about the test results, a company representative replied: "There are no results that could be published in the public domain."

India imported 33.05 million tons of coking coal in January-September, down 15% from last year, according to the Indian Ministry of Commerce. Australia was the largest supplier with 22.95 million tonnes, followed by the United States and Canada with 3.09 million tonnes and 2.3 million tonnes, respectively. Russia supplied 1.01 million tons, which is 75% more than a year earlier.

In November 2019, the Indian government met with Russian officials in New Delhi to discuss increasing supplies of coking coal from Russia's Far East to India. Dharmendra Pradhan, India's Minister of Steel, Petroleum and Natural Gas, said at the time that diversifying coking coal sources was a priority for the Indian steel industry.

Earlier this month, Tata Steel said that offshore iron ore prices are expected to decline as supply improves, while coking coal prices will remain soft due to restrictions on imports by China amid political tensions with Australia. Tata Steel's steel sales in India rose 22% year-on-year in the second fiscal quarter to September to 5.05 million tonnes and production rose 2% to 4.5 million tonnes.