With the Indonesian thermal coal prices surging, Coal India (CIL) is looking at an opportunity to replace imported thermal coal with the domestic variety going by the government’s mandate of 100 million tonne (MT) of import substitution.
In the wake of the Indonesian government setting the November average free on board (FOB) coal prices at $55.71 per tonne, up 9.2% from October’s FOB value, CIL has started talking to importers to find if they could meet their requirement through domestic coal. “We have already communicated with 300 importers seeking their requirement from domestic sources. The rising international coal prices in the last fortnight could offer CIL an opening,” a CIL official said.
