NEW DELHI: India’s 12 major government-owned ports handled around 18.33 million mt of imported thermal coal over April-May, up 1.3% from 18.09 million mt in the same period a year ago, according to Indian Ports Association data released Wednesday. But coking coal imports in the first two months of the current fiscal year 2016-2017 plunged by 8.4% to 8.7 million mt, from 9.5 million mt a year ago, the data showed.
Paradip port on the east coast of India handled the highest volume of thermal coal imports during the two-month period at 5.1 million mt, up 4% from 4.9 million mt a year ago. Kolkata port, also on east coast, received the highest coking coal shipments in April-May at around 2.3 million mt, compared to 2.8 million mt in the same period last year, showing a drop of 17.8%.
The 12 ports are Kolkata, Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Ennore, Chennai, VO Chidambaranar (Tuticorin), Cochin, New Mangalore, Mormugao, Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, or JNPT, and Kandla. Chennai port and JNPT didn’t receive any coal cargoes during the period under review.
