India's coal imports rose above 20 million tonnes in April 2026, hitting a 10-month high, though the year-on-year decline widened from the previous month due to a high base.

Coal imports in April reached 21.13 million tonnes, down 12.95% from 24.27 million tonnes a year earlier but up 7.44% from 19.66 million tonnes in March, showed data from India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

A severe heatwave in late April pushed coal-fired power generation to a record high, driving urgent demand for imported thermal coal. Peak power demand hit 256.1 GW in late April, surpassing the previous record of 250 GW set in May 2024. Total power generation in April reached 167.61 TWh, the highest since May 2024.

Despite higher coal-fired output, coal's share in India's power mix fell to 72.4% in April from 74.3% a year earlier, as increased renewable and hydro generation displaced some coal-fired capacity.

Coking coal imports fell both month on month and year on year in April. The removal of temporary restrictions on low-ash metallurgical coke in January boosted metallurgical coke imports, partially replacing demand for coking coal.

Domestic coal production was low in April, the start of India's fiscal year, supporting import demand. Imported coal stocks fell to 3.61 million tonnes by end-April from 4.65 million tonnes at end-March, prompting importers to replenish.

Continued heatwave-driven power demand and declining import coal stocks are expected to sustain import procurement in the near term.

India's coal import value in April stood at $1.66 billion, down 36.08% year on year and 31.43% month on month, implying an average import price of $78.62/t, down 26.57% year on year and 36.18% from March.

Cumulative coal imports for January-April 2026 totaled 78.17 million tonnes, down 7.63% year on year, with import value at $8.28 billion, down 11.03%.

By coal type, April thermal coal imports were 15.18 million tonnes, down 15.69% year on year but up 14.17% month on month, accounting for 71.86% of total imports, up from 67.63% in March.

Coking coal imports were 5.77 million tonnes, down 2.73% year on year and 7.94% month on month, representing 27.29% of the total. Anthracite imports were 179,600 tonnes, down 46.53% year on year but up 75.69% from March.

By origin, the top five suppliers — Indonesia, South Africa, Australia, Russia and the United States — accounted for 88.77% of India's total coal imports in April, up from 86.84% in March.

Indonesia remained the largest supplier at 7.90 million tonnes, down 12.02% year on year but up 13.87% month on month, representing 37.4% of total imports, up from 35.29% in March. South Africa supplied 3.20 million tonnes, down 3.79% year on year but up 3.96% month on month, accounting for 15.13%.

Australia supplied 2.65 million tonnes, down 3.79% year on year and 10.82% month on month, representing 12.53% of total imports. Russia supplied 2.59 million tonnes, down 5.38% year on year but up 30.75% month on month. The U.S. supplied 2.42 million tonnes, down 0.65% year on year but up 14.56% month on month.

India imported 615,500 tonnes of coke in April, up 65.01% year on year and 20.34% month on month, with import value at $157 million, up 41.26% year on year and 23.54% month on month. Cumulative coke imports for January-April totaled 2.40 million tonnes, up 76.92% year on year, with import value at $610 million, up 51.36%.