Australian Coal Exports Surged in CY16

Australia has witnessed growth in yearly coal exports, following record export in the month of Dec’16.

Australia, largest coal exporters in the world, exported 388.75 MnT in CY16 with a growth of 0.70% Y-o-Y compared with 386.11 MnT in CY15 according to Australian Bureau of Statistics.Monthly exports in Dec’16 was 37.99 MnT, which was the highest monthly coal export over the two years.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics

Grade-wise Coal exports in 2016:
Australia mainly exports Steaming coal, hard coking coal, soft coking coal, and other grades of coal in CY16.

About half of the country’s coal exports consist of steaming coal, which accounts for 198.16 MnT in CY16.

It may be noted that exports of both Steaming coal and Hard coking coal have declined marginally in CY16, while exports of all other grades have risen over the year.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics
Quantity in MnT

Coal Exports in 2016:
Coal production growth in Australia remains weak in 2016, due to the combination of low prices and increased competition from South American coal.

Australia’s marginal increase in exports was driven by growth in imports from China. However, exports to other two major markets-Japan and South Korea contracted in CY16, which was partially offset by an increase in coal demand from Taiwan and other importing countries which accounts for around one-fifth of total exports.

Major Importing Countries in 2016:
Japan remained top coal importer from Australia in CY16 followed by China, South Korea, India and Taiwan.

Japan imported 121.31 MnT coal in CY16 down by 3% against 125.65 MnT in CY15.

China second largest coal importer, received 74.59 MnT coal against 70.92 MnT in CY15, their coal imports rise 5% Y-o-Y.

South Korea, third-largest coal importer saw a downfall of 16%  in their coal exports which stood 50.27 MnT in CY16.