Russia’s marine coal exports to Asia have been weakening in recent months as supplies of both energy grades and coking coal used in the steel industry dwindle. Reuters writes this based on data from the Kpler company.
According to their estimates, exports of all types of coal from the Russian Federation in February reached 8.48 million metric tons, slightly above January’s figure of 8.37 million tons. However, this slight increase followed six months of decline; February exports were also 21.6% below February 2022 levels of 10.81 million tonnes.
“After the outbreak of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in February last year, Russian coal companies reoriented themselves from predominantly European supplies to Asian markets,” Kpler said. “Russia’s seaborne coal exports to Asia peaked at 14.69 million tonnes in April 2022, almost double pre-crisis levels.”
According to analysts, much of the growth was driven by increased supplies to India, the world’s second-largest coal importer after China. Russia has managed to gain market share in this country by offering large discounts on thermal coal, especially for electricity generation.
“However, it is now becoming increasingly difficult for Russian thermal coal to compete in price with alternative grades from Asia’s largest exporters, Indonesia and Australia, as well as South Africa, which is known as a vibrant supplier to Europe and Asia,” Kpler said. .
In February, sea deliveries of coking coal from Russia to India fell to 489,207 tonnes, the lowest since September 2021 and half the January figure. Exports to China totaled 587,751 tonnes, remaining only slightly above January’s minimum level of 576,435 tonnes for almost 1.5 years.
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