Preliminary customs data reveals that during Jan-Jul’20, Vietnam’s coal imports have jumped up by 50% y-o-y to 36.5 mn t, amounting around $26.5 billion.
In July alone country’s coal imports rose by 9% m-o-m at 4.4 mn t with majority coming from Indonesia, Russia, and China.
The country has turned in to a net importer of coal about five years ago. Its coal exports during Jan-Jul’20 stood at 410,800 tonne worth $57 million.
Challenges in domestic production
Vietnam has been importing an increased quantity of coal in recent years as demand from thermal power plants has increased and domestic production is mired in difficulties, requiring deeper pits to reach the mineral.
In terms of production, Vietnam produced about 29.2 mn t of coal during January-July, up by 5% y-o-y basis. The largest coal producer in country, Vinacomin produced 24.5 mn t of coal till July, same as last year. It supplied about 95% of its produce to the domestic power plants.
Increased coal-fired power generation
Though the government has been trying to reduce its reliance on coal, encouraging solar and wind power plants, thermal power plants accounted for 36.1% of the electricity generated last year, according to the Vietnam Energy Association.
During Jan-Jul, coal-fired plants produced 80.8 billion kWh of electricity, up by 14.5% y-o-y, accounting to 56.8% of the total power generation till July.
Outlook for imports
The coal plant tracker data shows that about 19,717 MW (Megawatt) of coal-fired plants are currently operating in Vietnam and about 2,480 MW plants are announced, 10,760 MW plants are pre-permitted and 8720 MW plants are permitted to operate.
This implies that country’s coal requirement would increase further in coming years. The country is expected to import 12 mn t of coal this year, 30 mn t in 2025 and 50 mn t in 2030 to fuel its thermal power plants, senior officials of the state-owned coal mining group Vinacomin said earlier this year.
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