Coal exports (including hard coal, lignite, coke and semi-coke) from Russia to China fell by 21% y/y in March 2024 to 6.92 million tonnes for $881 million. This decline is due to recent US sanctions against major Russian coal exporters such as SUEK and Mechel, as well as China's re-imposition of import tariffs of 3-6% this year.
Moreover, many Russian coal companies may face production cutbacks this year, as lower export prices combine with rising costs for coal companies. Since the beginning of the year, seaborne shipments have fallen by 21% to 33 million tonnes.
Despite this, China's total coal imports have remained largely unchanged due to oversupply and low domestic prices.
At the same time, other countries such as Indonesia remained China's largest coal suppliers during the month, despite the decline in supply. Shipments fell by 9.9% to 19.8 million tonnes. Coking coal imports from Mongolia increased by 11.9 % y/y. Coal imports from Australia to China increased by 130% m/m due to Australia's duty-free status and the low basis effect.
Comments
No comment yet.