In April, coal imports up 90pct on year to 362,861 mt, exports down

Imports in April were worth $29.8 million, up 15 percent year-on-year but down 16.5 percent from March.

The main suppliers in the month were Indonesia with 211,425 mt, up 199 percent year-on-year, China (60,841 mt, up 44 percent) and Malaysia (27,346 mt, up 16 percent).

Over January-April, Vietnam imported 1.36 million mt of coal, rising 39 percent from the same period last year, with a value of $128 million, up 8.6 percent.

The main suppliers of coal to Vietnam in the first four months were Indonesia (638,951 mt, up 19 percent), Australia (308,191 mt, up 95 percent) and China (129,592 mt, up 1 percent).

Traditionally a coal exporter, Vietnam has turned to coal imports to meet rising domestic coal demand, particularly from the power sector.

Vietnam’s main coal miner, state-owned Vinacomin, said May 5 it produced 3.6 million mt of coal in April, up 4.5 percent year-on-year. Vinacomin’s output over January-April totalled 13.7 million mt, up 4.4 percent from a year earlier.

The company sold nearly 3.3 million mt of coal in April, rising 7.6 percent year-on-year, and 11.4 million mt in the first four months, up 7.9 percent.

Vinacomin did not give a breakdown for exports and domestic sales volume over January-April but said its exports in the period fell 79 percent year-on-year and domestic sales went up 12.6 percent.

The country, which mainly produces thermal coal, exported 248,742 mt in April, down 57 percent from the same month last year but up 32.8 percent from March.

The April exports were worth $24 million, 46 percent lower than in the same month last year but rising 6.2 percent from March this year.

Vietnam exported its coal in April to South Korea (103,455 mt, down 22 percent), Indonesia (47,000 mt, up 2,281 percent) and the Philippines (24,200 mt, up from zero).

China, traditionally the biggest coal buyer from Vietnam, has not bought any Vietnamese coal in the first four months of this year, according to the data.

During January-April, Vietnam exported 745,493 mt of coal, down 78 percent year-on year. The export value in the period was worth $81 million, down 67 percent from the same period in 2014.

In the period, the country mainly exported its coal to Japan (169,667 mt, down 62 percent), South Korea (128,548 mt, down 68 percent) and Indonesia (113,000 mt, up 428 percent).

Source: Vinacomin