BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 27. Global coal exports are anticipated to hit a record high, reaching approximately 1,466 million tons in 2023, Trend reports.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the dynamics of global trade have shifted notably towards Asia, with around 83 percent of imports directed to the Asia Pacific region.
In particular, China and India are projected to have expanded their combined share to about 47 percent of global imports. China, in particular, benefits from affordable coal imports from neighboring countries like Russia - trading coal at a discounted rate due to sanctions - and Mongolia, which lacks alternative buyers.
The IEA estimate suggests that China's overall coal imports have surged by 50 percent to 451 million tons in 2023, although the final figures may see adjustments as China's December imports historically exhibit high volatility. Concurrently, Russia's reliance on customers in China and India is on the rise, with approximately 60 percent of coal exports from Russia in the first nine months of 2023 directed to these two countries.
Looking ahead to 2026, the agency foresees a roughly 12-percent decrease in global coal trade, propelled by the increasing domestic production in coal-intensive economies like China and India, along with coal phase-out initiatives elsewhere, particularly in Europe. Projections indicate a roughly 16-percent decline in thermal coal exports by 2026, while exports of metallurgical coal are anticipated to experience a modest increase of nearly 2 percent.