COAL
CONSUMPTION - ECONOMY
News: Global coal demand set to remain at
record levels in 2023
What's
in the news?
● Global
coal consumption climbed to a new all-time high in 2022 and will stay near that
record level this year as strong growth in Asia for both power generation and
industrial applications outpaces declines in the United States and Europe,
according to the IEA’s latest market update.
Key
takeaways:
● Coal consumption in 2022 rose by 3.3%
to 8.3 billion tonnes, setting a new record, according to the IEA’s mid-year
'Coal Market Update'.
Coal Consumption in India:
● As
per the latest report, there has been an increase
in India’s coal imports by 30 percent to 162.46 million tonnes in the
2022-23 financial year against 124.99 MT in the year-ago period.
● India
is among the top five coal-producing countries in the world.
● However,
some parts of its coal requirement are met through imports as the country is
also among the major consumers of the dry fuel.
● India is heavily dependent on imports
when it comes to coking coal, a key raw material used in steel making.
Reason
for the rise in Imports:
● The
persistently high demand for steam coal in India coupled with the weakening of
seaborne prices led to the rise.