(Image source from: Reuters.com)

Russia and India in talks for Coal supplies:- The officials of India and Russia met last week to resolve the issue of shipping the coal to the Indian steelmakers. The shipping was kept on hold over the payment methods. Russia usually supplies 30 percent of the coking coal needs to European Union, South Korea and Japan. India is keen to double the Russian imports to around 9 million tonnes this year told an Indian official. India needs 55 million tonnes of coal every year and the Indian government signed a deal to import the coking coal from Russia. There are complications with the payment modes and the logistics because of which the deals are delayed.

Australia which was the top supplier of coking coal for India hiked the price from 200 USD to 700 USD per tonne. Now, Russia happens to be the best option for India and the officials initiated talks. Indian government officials and executives from JSW Steel met the officials of Russia in New Delhi. There are some concerns raised by the officials and there are talks about the Memorandum of Understanding. Russian officials asked the Indian government to visit Moscow and work out about the smooth shipments of coking coal. Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has requested a better insurance cover for the supplies.