Russian and Indian officials met last week to find a way out of the stalemate over coking coal supplies to Indian steel mills, which has ended since March due to SWIFT's decision to join Russian sanctions and the lack of alternative payment options.
p>Russia typically provides about 30% of the coking coal needs of the European Union, Japan and South Korea, while India planned to double its Russian imports to around 9 million tons this year.
Imports account for about 85% of India's total coking coal requirement, which is 50-55 million tons per year, and last year New Delhi signed an agreement to import from Russia.
Taking advantage of Russia's troubles, Australia, India's largest supplier of coking coal, raised prices from $200 to $700 per tonne, causing Indian steel producers to worry about their financial performance.
As a result, Indian government officials and JSW Steel executives met with a delegation from Russia in New Delhi on Friday, sources said of a previously unreported meeting.
According to sources, a Russian delegation has asked Indian representatives to visit Moscow to decide how to ensure an uninterrupted supply of coking coal, while India's State Steel Authority demanded better insurance coverage for supplies.
India did not impose sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation", and abstained from a UN vote condemning it, causing great irritation in Washington.
According to the official statistics of the Ministry of Iron and Steel Industry of India, during March 2022, the production of crude steel in the country amounted to 11.05 million tons, which is 5.43% more on an annual basis and 9.8% more compared to the previous month. The production of finished metal products amounted to 10.74 million tons, which is 18.2% more than in February
Consumption of finished steel in India in March 2022 increased by 14.7% compared to the previous month and by 1.4% compared to March 2021 to 9.85 million tons.
