13/05/26
Indian cement makers' petcoke imports may fall in 2026
Singapore, 13 May (Argus) — The Indian cement industry's imports of fuel-grade
petroleum coke may slip sharply to around 6mn t in the 2026 calendar year
because producers continue to switch to competitive thermal coal, a senior
cement industry executive said at the Argus India Commodities Day event in
Mumbai. Cement makers in India, the world's second-largest cement market,
imported 10.67mn t of coke from origins including the US and Saudi Arabia in
2025, down slightly from 10.83mn t a year earlier, according to data from
shipbroker Interocean. But imports were only at 707,000t during January-March,
down sharply from 2.47mn t in the year earlier. "I don't think cement makers'
coke imports can cross 6mn t this year. Receipts were sharply down in the first
quarter, and most cement plants have been buying imported and domestic thermal
coal to replace coke because coke prices have been at a significant premium to
coal after the US-Iran war started," a senior industry procurement executive
said last week. India imported 2.75mn t of US thermal coal, primarily the
high-calorific value (CV) NAR 6,900 kcal/kg Northern Appalachian (NAPP) coal, in
the quarter ended 31 March, up by 32pc from a year earlier, data from trade
analytics platform Kpler show. Cement makers prefer NAPP coal as a replacement
to coke when their prices are competitive. NAPP coal is being offered in the
mid-$130s/t cfr on India's west coast, compared with offers of about $150/t for
the NAR 7,500 kcal/kg US high-sulphur coke. But the low import duty of 2.75pc on
NAPP coal against an import tax on 11pc on coke largely offsets the CV
difference between the two fuels, making this coal a preferred fuel at current
prices. Indian cement makers have significantly cut coke share in their kiln
fuel mix during January-March because coal prices were more competitive. This
trend is likely to be more pronounced in the current quarter. India's largest
cement producer, Ultratech, cut coke share in its fuel mix to 41pc during
January-March, down from 54pc in the corresponding quarter of 2025 while raising
coal use, the Bombay Stock Exchange-listed firm said last month. Fellow cement
maker Nuvoco Vistas reduced coke use to 37pc in January-March from 52pc in the
same quarter last year. Coke supplies from Middle East countries, the
second-largest source after the US, have been affected due to the war, also
reducing overall supplies. Coke supplies and loading from the 460,000 b/d Satorp
refinery in Saudi Arabia's Jubail, jointly operated by state-controlled Saudi
Aramco and TotalEnergies, have stopped since March because vessels can only
reach the refinery on the Mideast Gulf coast by traveling through the strait of
Hormuz. Many vessel owners are reluctant to transit though the strait because
Iran has been attacking vessels there. Meanwhile, the Yasref refinery — a joint
venture between Aramco and Sinopec — in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, continues to load
but refinery runs were lower, leading to a drop in coke output, maket
participants said. Costlier imports, weak rupee ups domestic coal use In
addition to raising imported coal use, Indian cement makers are also securing
more domestic coal to replace coke since a weaker rupee has added to overall
delivered costs of imported coke and coal. The Indian rupee averaged at around
90.76 rupee to the dollar in February, weakening to Rs92.90 in March and further
to Rs93.40 in April. It has slipped further to Rs94.91 so far in May, implying
additional cost in rupee terms. But domestic coal is priced in rupees, shielding
buyers from foreign exchange swings. Cement makers received 3.53mn t of domestic
coal over January-April, up by 10pc from the year earlier, according to coal
ministry data. "I won't be surprised if total coke imports by cement plants
falls by 50pc in 2026," a procurement executive at a second cement maker said.
"We typically buy 600,000t of coke every year, but we have only booked 125,000t
so far this year." But cement makers would also be quick to switch back to coke
once prices become competitive compared with coal. "The shift is an emergency
response to the crisis, not a structural change," said a third cement maker.
"Domestic coal has come into picture due to its wide gap with seaborne fuel, but
it has quality issues." By Ajay Modi Send comments and request more information
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