By IANS,
Kolkata: The Planning Commission’s projection of importing 250 million tonnes of coal in the 12th Five Year Plan to meet the domestic demand-supply gap could further increase international coal prices, an official said Saturday.
“The Planning Commission predicts that India needs to import 250 million tonnes (MT) of coal to bridge the demand-supply gap. However, this figure needs a lot of analysis and introspection,” Coal Secretary Alok Perti said at a national seminar on “Energy Security for the Future-Challenges Ahead” here.
“Today total import market of coal roughly amounts to 800 MT (million tonnes) to 900 MT and if we add this Indian demand of 250 MT, we are looking at roughly a 40 percent rise in trade of coal over the next five years,” he said.
He said if India started projecting coal import, it would give an indication to suppliers in Australia, Indonesia, South Africa and the US of the huge demand in the country.
“There will be a race to see who can emerge as the potential supplier. We are already paying huge prices and it is expected to get worse with these projections,” he stated.
Perti said India might not have to import coal in the future, if the domestic situation improved with more projects getting environmental clearances.