Pakistan’s thermal coal imports for Nov ’20 have been recorded at 1.46 mn t against 1.40 mn t in the previous month, vessel line-up data with CoalMint revealed.
This increase in imports can be attributed to a dramatic surge in Pakistan’s coal imports from Indonesia, up by 44% m-o-m to 0.32 mn t in Nov ’20 against 0.22 mn t in Oct ’20.
In early November, the government of Pakistan announced a package for industrial sector with 50% reduction in rate of commercial electricity on additional usage by Small and Medium Enterprises. This led to increase in coal demand from Pakistan’s power sector during the month.
While Pakistan’s coal imports from South Africa increased by 3.1% m-o-m at 0.92 mn t in Nov’20, imports from Australia fell by 21% m-o-m at 0.23 mn t.
The fall in imports from the cement sector at 0.56 mn t in Nov ’20, down by 20.5% m-o-m, is responsible for the drop in country’s Australian coal imports. The early onset of winters in country that has restricted infrastructure work and increasing number of Covid cases, especially in Northern region has weighed on the Pakistan’s cement sales during the month.
During Jan-Nov’20, Pakistan imported about 13.4 mn t of thermal coal against 13.7 mn t in the same period last year.
Outlook:
The demand for Indonesian coal would continue to rise in December as winters usually lead to higher energy requirement. Apart from this the ongoing government package to boost industrialisation would add to increased power consumption and subsequent coal demand.
Moreover, demand for Australian coal could also rise as it is a close substitute to S.African coal, and S. African coal prices are currently trending at quite high levels, making Australian thermal coal more attractive.
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