Coal exports from Russia fell by 8.6 percent in seven months

MOSCOW, 10 Oct — PRIME. Export of coal from Russia in January-July decreased by 8.6%, but demand in the domestic market grew by 6.8%, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak said in his author’s article in the Energy Policy magazine.

He clarified that coal production in Russia for the first seven months decreased by 0.9%.

“The 8.6% drop in exports over the same period (the first seven months of 2022 – ed.) was largely offset by increased demand in the domestic market, which has grown by 6.8% yoy since the beginning of the year, reaching a level of 99, 5 million tons due to an increase in electricity consumption (+14.4% yoy) due to low water in Siberian rivers this year,” Novak wrote.

In recent months, the Russian coal industry, along with other sectors of the economy, has faced unprecedented restrictions from unfriendly countries, the Deputy Prime Minister specified. This applies to both the embargo on the import of Russian coal and the export of technologies for the coal industry.

“But despite external pressure, the industry is showing a high degree of resilience,” Novak said.

In 2021, Novak recalled, coal exports from Russia amounted to 223.4 million tons. At the same time, exports to the Atlantic direction reached 98.2 million tons, to the Asia-Pacific countries – 125.2 million tons. The largest importers were China with 53.6 million tons, Japan with 21.9 million tons and South Korea with 21.4 million tons. In 2021, the Russian Federation exported 46.8 million tons of thermal coal and 3.6 million tons of coking coal to Europe.