Authorities of Kuzbass, where more than half of Russian coal is mined, forecast up to 7% decline in the region’s annual output if the downward trend in shipments to the northwest continues. Usually, the northwest direction was used by Russian coal exporters in order to deliver coal to European customers, but the EU imposed an embargo on Russian coal supplies from mid-August 2022 and some of coal consumers in Europe already started to look for the replacement of Russian material. For example, Poland completely refused to import Russian coal.
Kuzbass coal companies produced 243.1 mio t of coal in 2021 (+10% y-o-y).
According to the Ministry of Coal Industry of the Kemerovo Region, in January-May 2022, coal extraction in the region decreased by 5.2 mio t (-5.3% y-o-y). At the same time, all of the industry’s enterprises continue to work and search for new markets.
Source: CAA
