Report: Russia’s coal exports fall 8.6% in Jan–Jul – Deputy PM

MOSCOW, Oct 10 (PRIME) -- The coal exports of Russia, the world’s third largest exporter, went down by 8.6% on the year in January–July compensated by a 6.8% increase in internal demand to 99.5 million tonnes, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in an article he contributed to on Monday in the Energeticheskaya Politika (Energy Policy) magazine.

“The fall of exports by 8.6% as compared with the same period (of 2021) was largely compensated by higher demand on the internal market, which grew by 6.8% on the year to 99.5 million tonnes since the beginning of the year because of higher consumption by the power sector, which expanded by 14.4% year-on-year due to low water level of the Siberian rivers,” he said.

Russia’s coal production decreased by 0.9% in the period, he said without providing absolute figures.

In spite of the Western sanctions, the Russian coal industry is resilient, and may redirect about 25 million tonnes of coal from the European markets to the East by sending some coal by railway to the Far Eastern ports and exporting some coal through the ports of the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, he said.

Moscow is also focusing on settlements in the national currencies, while diversifying coal exports. The mechanisms were drafted with China and India, Novak said.

Russia’s combined market share with the top exporters – Indonesia and Australia – exceeds 80%. The lack of Russian coal in some regions of the world creates noticeable problems for the consumers and drives up demand and prices. After rejecting Russian coal, the countries are looking for new suppliers, and disrupt the existing market balance and throw the market into chaos, he said.

The Russian government is considering cheap loans of 10–500 million rubles to the coal companies at 3–5% annually for 5 years to be spent on local equipment, he said.

Relocation of production centers to the East coupled with the launches of new coal fields in the republic of Yakutia and in the Taimyr Peninsula should improve competitiveness of Russian coal, he said.

(61.2475 rubles – U.S. $1)

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