India: Largest Importer of Coking Coal by 2025 | 31 Aug 2019

According to a report published by Fitch Solutions Macro Research, India will overtake China as the largest importer of coking coal by 2025.

It estimated that India's coking coal consumption to grow at an annual average rate of 5.4% between 2019 and 2028, driven by an expansion in steel production.
In global terms, China influences prices of coking coal, as it accounts for roughly two-thirds of global coking coal production and consumption.
- However, steel production in China may get reduced in the medium term due to the slowing of the Chinese economy and construction sectors.

Coking coal, also known as metallurgical coal, is used to create coke, one of the key inputs for the production of steel.
- Coke is used as a fuel and as a reducing agent in smelting iron ore in a blast furnace (converting iron oxide (hematite) into iron metal).
Process of Coking
- Coke is a solid fuel made by heating coal in the absence of air so that the volatile components are driven off.
- The process of heating coal in this manner is referred to as carbonization or coke making.
- The chemical composition alone cannot be used to predict whether a coal is suitable for coking.
  - Coking coals generally have volatile matter contents of 20% to 32% – i.e., the low- and medium-volatile bituminous ranks.
- There are many varieties of coal in the world, ranging from lignite to anthracite.