Shree Cement Ltd has agreed to buy 500,000 metric tonnes of imported coal for delivery by April 2011. The Kolkata-based cement maker paid a delivered price of $105 a tonne for the imported coal used in power plants. Last month, the company took delivery of a 147,000 tonne cargo at Navlakhi port in western India. India’s thermal-coal imports rose by about 16 per cent to 44 mt in the year ended March 2010, according to data from the coal ministry. The country faces a shortfall of 52 mt in the year ending March 2011, according to a statement by Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal.Contact:Shree Cement LimitedTel: 01462-228101-06Fax: 01462-228 117/228 119Email: shreebwr@shreecementltd.com