Coking coal imports of China are recovering steadily despite the ban, imposed by the Chinese government on the Australian exports in 2020, and the negative consequences of Covid-19 crisis.
According to the customs data, in March 2021, China imported 4.2 mio t of coking coal (-13% to March 2020 and +52% to February 2021). The increase in 2021 monthly volumes was associated with exporters from Mongolia, the US and Canada ramping up their supplies. In March 2021, deliveries from Mongolia surged to 2.2 mio t (44-fold increase y-o-y), from the United States to 0.7 mio t (5-fold increase y-o-y), from Canada to 1.3 mio t (2-fold increase y-o-y). Russian suppliers exported only 0.6 mio t (+59% y-o-y).
After the termination of export shipments from Australia, Mongolia becomes the main supplier of coking coal to the Chinese market. In Q1 2021 Mongolian exports of metallurgical coal to China soared to 6.1 mio t (+123% y-o-y) while Russian deliveries amounted to 1.4 mio t (+8% y-o-y). Russian coal mining companies Kolmar and Elgacoal, located in Yakutia, plan to increase production and exports of coking coal to China, using their geographic advantage over other Russian coal suppliers. However, despite ambitious plans of the Russian coal exporters to grow shipments eastwards, coal supplies are limited by the lack of railway carrying capacities of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) and the Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR).
Source: CAA Analytics
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