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India Coal Imports Fall 7%, BIMCO

[ November 5, 2026   //   ]

Coal shipments to India fell 7 percent year over year during the first 10 months of 2026 as higher import costs weakened demand, according to BIMCO.

India is the world’s second-largest coal importer and accounts for 17 percent of global coal shipments. Its declining imports have had the greatest effect on supramax vessels, whose coal shipments to India fell 16 percent year over year. Panamax volumes declined 4 percent as those vessels increasingly competed with other ship segments for cargoes.

“The cost of imports increased due to a weaker rupee and higher coal prices,” said Filipe Gouveia, shipping analysis manager at BIMCO.

International coal prices have strengthened as disruption in the Strait of Hormuz tightened liquefied natural gas supplies, prompting the European Union, Japan and South Korea to generate more electricity from coal. Chinese coal imports also rose after a mining accident led to mine closures and production inspections.

Indian coal-fired electricity generation increased approximately 9 percent year over year, BIMCO said. Domestic coal production, however, grew only about 4 percent, leaving power plants to draw down inventories rather than replace the shortfall through imports. By Nov. 1, 48 percent of India’s coal-fired power plants held critically low inventories.

The decline also reflected weaker demand for coking coal following a decrease in Indian steel production amid low margins.

Imports may now be beginning a limited recovery. Coal shipments to India increased 7 percent year over year in October as power plants faced pressure to replenish inventories and meet electricity demand.

“In the coming months, high electricity demand, paired with the need to rebuild inventories, could support India’s coal import demand,” Gouveia said.

The longer-term outlook remains restrained. The International Energy Agency expects Indian coal demand to grow 2.5 percent in 2027. Recovering hydroelectric generation and increased domestic coal production could limit the corresponding increase in imports, according to BIMCO.

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