Kolkata: Prices of coking coal was expected to stabilise in the region of USD140 to USD150 per tonne over the next three to five years, an official of state-owned SAIL said.
"Coking coal price is predicted to stabilise between USD140-150 per tonne in the next three to five years", executive director (collieries) of SAIL S K Basak said at Bharat Chamber of Commerce.
In 2016, international coking coal prices were at a peak at USD308 a tonne, which had come down USD150 per tonne. "Last month, coking coal price slightly rose to USD160 per tonne due to Chinese ban of coal import from North Korea", he said.
Coking coal, a vital ingredient in the steel making process, available in the country is high in ash content. "The government is talking about supplying coking coal with 13 percent ash content, while we were used to 18 percent ash content for the last so many decades. Imports will continue unless the ash content is reduced to 13 per cent," Basak said.
Coal India was providing 10 million tonnes of coking coal to the steel sector, which came down to just over seven million tonnes at the begening of the 21st century. "The supply now is hovering at 2.1 million tonnes. This is mainly because instead of beneficiation, costly coking coal is being diverted to power sector," he said.
