Australia’s coal exports have diminished by 5.87% on a month-on-month basis to 30.38 million metric tons (MnT) in April, as compared to 32.27 MnT in March, as per the latest vessel lineup data compiled by CoalMint Research.
Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the month of April traditionally witnesses weak demand for seaborne coal – as it comes between the winter and summer power demand peaks.
However, on a year-on-year basis, the country’s coal exports grew marginally by about 3% than the export volume of 29.48 MnT in Apr’18.

Source: Vessel Line-up Data, CoalMint Research | Quantity in MnT
Major Coal Importers from Australia in Apr’19:

Japan remained the largest receiver of Australian coal in Apr’19, followed by China, India and South Korea — generally these four nations together account for approximately three-fourths of Australia’s total coal shipments during any particular month.
However, Japanese coal imports from Australia have fallen by 12.9% to 8.19 MnT in Apr’19, against 9.41 MnT in Mar’19.
Contrarily, Chinese coal imports from Australia have risen by 24.3% to 7.72 MnT in Apr’19, against 6.21 MnT in Mar’19.
Notably, India replaced South Korea to become the third-largest Australian coal importer during the month of Apr’19.
Indian coal imports from Australia have increased by 7% to 3.26 MnT in Apr’19, against 3.04 MnT in Mar’19.
More importantly, South Korean coal imports from Australia have decreased by 26.7% to 3.11 MnT in Apr’19, against 4.24 MnT in Mar’19.
Taiwanese coal imports from Australia decreased by 3.9% to 2.82 MnT in Apr’19, against 2.93 MnT in Mar’19.

Source: CoalMint Research | Quantity in MnT
The following table provides a more detailed breakup of the importing countries.
| Country | Apr’19 | Mar’19 | Change |
| Japan | 8,189,554 | 9,406,267 | -12.94% |
| China | 7,717,561 | 6,210,778 | 24.26% |
| India | 3,257,967 | 3,043,873 | 7.03% |
| South Korea | 3,108,215 | 4,242,663 | -26.74% |
| Taiwan | 2,819,589 | 2,934,921 | -3.93% |
| Vietnam | 1,284,382 | 978,989 | 31.19% |
| Thailand | 471,243 | 221,650 | 112.61% |
| Indonesia | 382,201 | 586,316 | -34.81% |
| Brazil | 297,041 | 522,707 | -43.17% |
| Sweden | 162,000 | 81,000 | 100.00% |
| Netherlands | 158,804 | 733,464 | -78.35% |
| New Caledonia | 156,000 | ||
| Malaysia | 143,085 | 423,268 | -66.20% |
| United Arab Emirates | 137,900 | ||
| Philippines | 130,000 | 135,070 | -3.75% |
| Poland | 75,000 | ||
| Turkey | 330,000 | ||
| Chile | 315,788 | ||
| South Africa | 255,815 | ||
| Spain | 77,000 | ||
| Hong Kong | 58,835 | ||
| Argentina | 49,500 | ||
| New Zealand | 39,000 | ||
| Others | 1,886,085 | 1,623,934 | 16.14% |
| GRAND TOTAL | 30,376,627 | 32,270,838 | -5.87% |
Source: CoalMint Research | Quantity in MT

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