India’s import curbs on metallurgical coke, a key steelmaking fuel, have become a concern for many producers, Jayant Acharya, Indian steelmaker JSW Steel’s chief executive, said on Tuesday.
The country’s largest steelmaker is now sourcing coking coal mainly from Australia, the U.S. and Mozambique, Acharya added.
Steel sector’s reliance on coke imports
Indian steel mills met only about half of their metallurgical coke needs from domestic suppliers in the first half of 2025, highlighting shortages and amplifying calls to ease import restrictions, Reuters reported last month.
The world’s second-largest crude steel producer imposed the import curbs in January to support the domestic metallurgical coke industry.
In June, the government extended the curbs, introducing country-specific quotas and capping overseas purchases at 1.4 million tons between July 1 and December 31.
Indian steel producers have urged the government to sharply raise import quotas, seeking nearly a sevenfold increase, to address the crunch, Reuters reported earlier.
Effect on JSW Steel operation
In August, executives of JSW Steel also appealed to government officials to raise the company’s allocation, citing operational challenges at two of its units in the southern state of Karnataka and the central state of Chhattisgarh, Reuters reported citing sources.
Imports of low-ash metallurgical coke have more than doubled over the past four years, with major suppliers including China, Japan, Indonesia, Poland and Switzerland.
Earlier this year, India’s trade minister Piyush Goyal encouraged steelmakers to source met coke locally. (Reporting by Neha Arora in Delhi