India July Coal Imports Increase 8%, Interocean Group Data.

(Bloomberg) -- Indian companies led by Adani Enterprises Ltd., Bhatia International Ltd. and JSW Energy Ltd. increased coal imports by 8 percent in July from a month earlier, according to data from Interocean Group of Companies.

Power, steel, cement and paper producers purchased 10.8 million metric tons of steam and coking coal last month via 30 Indian ports, the New Delhi-based ship broker said.

India's domestic coal production may fall short of demand by 142 million tons in the financial year ending March 2012, according to the coal ministry. The nation produces 530 million tons of coal a year and imports about 67 million tons, Sriprakash Jaiswal, coal minister, said in September.

Paradip, a port on the east coast, received the most coal shipments in July, totaling 1.52 million tons. Visakhapatnam, Gangavaram and Krishnapatnam, all on the east coast, received 978,221 tons, 877,882 tons and 755,438 tons of the fuel, respectively, Interocean data showed.

The monsoon from June to September can slow coal imports on the west coast and divert shipments to ports in the east.

Most imports came from Indonesia, Australia and South Africa. State-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd. bought two shipments while Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd. and Shree Cement Ltd. received one shipment each from the U.S., the data show.

Source : sfgate.com