Currently, countries around the world buy coal from which nations?
China and India are among the world’s most famous countries for coal purchases, but most of the fuel is used for domestic consumption. As both countries rely heavily on coal to generate electricity, China and India are also two of the world’s largest importers.
Other leading coal producers, such as Australia, Russia and Indonesia, have large export capacity while still meeting domestic coal demand.
According to the World Energy Statistics Report 2019, China’s coal imports recorded an exponential growth between 2008 and 2018, increasing from 25 million tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe) in 2008 to 146.5 Mtoe 2018.
Similarly, India’s coal imports increased from 30.9 million to 141.7 million in the last decade. Japan is a major coal importer in the region. However, the country’s coal imports remained largely stable from 2008 to 2018.
Australia – a strong country in coal exports
With the increasing demand for coal, especially in Southeast Asian countries, Australia took the opportunity and became the world’s leading coal exporter – accounting for 29% of total world coal exports, with export volume is more than 240 million tons in 2018. In 2018, Australia produced 301.1 million tons of coal, consuming about 15% of domestic demand. The strength that makes Australia a major coal exporter in the world is due to low coal consumption requirements in the domestic market along with abundant coal reserves. Japan is the leading market for Australian coal, the main purpose is to use coal as fuel for thermal power plants. With proven coal reserves of up to 1,47,435 million tons, Australia is of course among the countries with the largest coal reserves in the world, after the US and Russia. Australia’s coal mines are mainly mined in the coal mines of Queensland and New South Wales. The country’s major coal mines include the Peak Downs coal mine and the Mt Arthur coal mine. The two mines are among the seven largest coal mines in the world.
Indonesia – a country with abundant coal resources and cheap price
When it comes to buying coal, it is impossible not to mention Indonesia. The country is the second largest coal exporter globally, with an output of up to 220.3 million tons and has supplied coal to the world in 2018, of which domestic coal use accounts for about 19% amount of coal mined. Indonesia’s coal exports contribute to more than a quarter of the world’s total coal exports. Over the past decade, Asia Pacific countries in general and Indonesia in particular have nearly doubled their coal exports, from 110.4 Mtoe in 2008, to 220.6 Mtoe in 2018. Sangatta Mine operated by Kaltim Prima located in Sangatta, the Ombilin open-pit coal mine in Padang and the Sebuku Coal Mine located in Sebuku are among the major mines in the country. Indonesia holds more than 37,000 million tons of coal reserves, accounting for 3.5% of total coal reserves worldwide.
Russia – improved quality coal suitable for power plants
For countries that need to buy coal with large reserves, Russian coal is a perfect choice. Russia holds the second largest proven coal reserves in the world and is of course one of the top exporters of fossil fuels. Russia exports more than half of its coal production. The country exported 136.2 Mtoe of coal in 2018, contributing to nearly 16% of total world coal exports.
The country’s major coal mines include the Donetskii reserves in Moscow, the Pechora basins in Western Russia, and the Kuznetski, Kansk-Achinsk, Irkutsk and Southern Yakutsk basins in Eastern Russia. A significant portion of domestically produced coal is hard coal.