Why imported petcoke dampened Coal India's cement linkage auction

Pet coke's quality is better as its heat value is 8,000 kcl, while that of Indian coal is 3,500 kcl

Despite petcoke prices remaining 108 per cent higher at the end of March 2017 at $ 92 a tonne, which can potentially dent the margins of the cement manufacturers, the companies in the sector continue to stick to petcoke imports rather than substitute the input material with Indian coal.

Recently, in the coal linkage auction for the cement sector, Coal India, which conducted the linkage auction, faced disappointment with the results.

Industry officials reasoned that the primary reason for the industry to stick to petcoke despite higher prices is the quality issue.

"Pet coke's quality is better as its heat value is 8,000