Coal behemoth Coal India’s total coal production for April witnessed a 9.7 per cent year-on-year fall at 56.1 million tonnes (mt) compared with 62.1 mt for the same period last year.
During April, coal offtake witnessed a 2 per cent y-o-y decline at 63.2 mt as against 64.5 mt in the year-ago period, according to CIL’s stock exchange filing on Friday.
Notably, among the company’s seven coal-producing subsidiaries, five subsidiaries witnessed a fall in their production for the first month of the current financial year. Eastern Coalfield (ECL), Bharat Coking Coal (BCCL), Northern Coalfields (NCL), Western Coalfields (WCL) and Mahanadi Coalfields (MCL) registered a production decline of 9.5 per cent, 41.3 per cent, 23.6 per cent, 6.6 per cent and 13.9 per cent, y-o-y, respectively.
Current high pithead stock at the mines of CIL might have impacted coal production, industry observers told businessline. Currently, pithead stock stands at around 125 mt as against 106.78 mt as on April 1, 2025.
E-auction price up
Coal India said its e-auction price of coal increased by 51 per cent over notified prices in April. In March, the e-auction price rose by 45 per cent over notified prices.
Quantity offered during April stood at 30.55 mt, while quantity allocated was 11.77 mt. The quantity of coal allocated through the e-auction decreased 11.64 per cent on a month-on-month basis.
While Eastern Coalfield (ECL) and Mahanadi Coalfields (MCL) witnessed only 23 per cent of their offered coal getting allocated through e-auction in April, Northern Coalfields (NCL) and South Eastern Coalfields (SECL) saw 100 per cent and 79 per cent of their offered coal getting allocated, respectively, during the month.
Significantly, for the fourth quarter last fiscal, Coal India’s sales, in terms of volume, under fuel supply agreement fell to 167.70 mt from 175.07 mt in Q4FY25. Realisation under FSA also decreased to ₹1,460.47 per tonne from ₹1,486.60 per tonne in the year-ago period.
E-auction sales during the fourth quarter last fiscal rose 27.63 mt, compared with 21.63 mt in Q4FY25. Realisation under e-auction, however, decreased to ₹2,202.63 per tonne during Q4FY26 from ₹2,363.79 per tonne in Q4FY25.