India's coal import dropped by marginal 0.6 per cent to 20.58 million tonne in the month of August, over the year-ago period.

The country's coal import was 20.70 MT in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

In the April-August period of FY26, the coal import dropped to 118.07 MT from 121.18 MT a year ago, according to data compiled by B2B e-commerce solution provider mjunction services.

Of the total imports in August, non-coking coal volume stood at 11.55 MT, against 13.04 MT a year ago. Coking coal import was at 4.82 MT against 4.53 MT imported in August last fiscal.

During April-August FY26, non-coking coal import was at 72.17 MT, lower than 78.68 MT imported during the same period last fiscal. Coking coal import stood at 27.04 MT as against 24.79 MT a year ago.

mjunction services CEO Vinaya Varma had earlier said that the coal demand before the festive period was subdued due to an extended monsoon, and the overall demand scenario is likely to remain sluggish in the current fiscal year.

From a mid-to-long term perspective, however, coal demand is expected to keep growing, albeit at a slower rate, in view of the strong pipeline of thermal power projects being planned and announced.